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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cap — a lid
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. bass — low music
  6. board — a committee
  7. cap — a hat
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. shower — rain
  10. bass — the fish
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. kid — to tease
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. board — to get on
  17. shower — to wash
  18. branch — a division
  19. kid — child
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cap — of ice
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. board — a flat piece

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