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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wind — moving air
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rash — hasty
  7. stem — to come from
  8. band — a music group
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. band — a ring
  18. branch — a division
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. rash — a series
  24. band — a rubber band

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