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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: bore · branch · saw · lean · fall · shower · wake · press

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fall — to drop
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. branch — a division
  5. press — a publisher
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bore — to drill
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fall — the season
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bore — to tire
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wake — a trail
  15. press — to push
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. press — newspapers
  19. lean — thin
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. shower — rain
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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