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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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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: march · bark · branch · shower · bulb · wake · lash · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. wound — an injury
  4. march — music
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bulb — for light
  7. shower — rain
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. march — the month
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bark — to shout
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. march — the month
  18. shower — to wash
  19. wake — a trail
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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