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

Word bank: shower · march · jam · land · fine · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. land — a country
  5. march — music
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. fine — high quality
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. march — the month
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. land — to come down
  14. fine — all right
  15. shower — rain
  16. land — ground
  17. march — the month
  18. fine — a penalty

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