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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: bear · tear · chest · shower · branch · rule

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. tear — to rip
  4. shower — rain
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bear — the animal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rule — a law
  12. chest — a box
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rule — government
  17. branch — a division
  18. tear — from crying

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