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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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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: pass · kid · branch · cold · pitch · shower

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. shower — rain
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. kid — to tease
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. branch — a division
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cold — an illness
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pass — a permit
  15. kid — child
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. shower — to wash

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