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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. field — for sport
  4. toast — bread
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. field — a subject
  17. drill — the tool
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. field — farmland
  20. drill — army training
  21. content — happy
  22. drill — a practice
  23. content — the amount
  24. toast — a drink to someone

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com