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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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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: rest · row · ground · sharp · shower · board · branch · present

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. rest — a break
  3. ground — crushed
  4. present — the time now
  5. branch — a division
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. shower — rain
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — the earth
  10. rest — what's left
  11. row — to paddle
  12. rest — what's left
  13. board — a committee
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — to wash
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. present — a gift
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. present — there

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