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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. squash — the sport
  6. row — to paddle
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. foot — a measure
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bound — certain
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. shower — to wash
  14. scale — in music
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. scale — size or range
  19. mine — for digging
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. branch — a division
  23. bound — obliged
  24. bound — tied together

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