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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: branch · season · drill · shower · kid · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. drill — army training
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. chair — a leader
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. kid — child
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — in sport
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. shower — to wash
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. kid — to tease
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. season — of the year
  17. shower — rain
  18. chair — to sit on

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