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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: shower · wind · mark · sharp · branch · fan · present · pit

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. present — a gift
  3. sharp — clever
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. mark — a grade
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. mark — a trace
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. present — there
  16. wind — moving air
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. present — the time now
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pit — a hole
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — moving air
  24. branch — a division

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