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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. lie — to recline
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. cue — a signal
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. branch — a division
  14. tube — the underground
  15. swing — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. swing — in golf
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lie — an untruth

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