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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: saw · pound · last · branch · wind · shower

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — a division
  7. pound — a weight
  8. last — final
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. shower — rain
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pound — for dogs

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