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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 116 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

Word bank: bear · game · deal · shower · vault · branch · current · clip

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bear — the animal
  4. clip — for paper
  5. current — of water
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. vault — a safe
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. current — electric
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. branch — a division
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. current — happening now
  18. deal — to handle
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. game — a match
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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