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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: lean · cold · mate · mouse · jam · shower · branch · ground

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. lean — thin
  5. ground — crushed
  6. mate — to breed
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mate — a friend
  10. shower — rain
  11. ground — a position
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. ground — the earth
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. branch — a division
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. lean — to bend
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cold — an illness

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