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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: branch · shower · nail · date · squash · bear · rush · court

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. squash — the sport
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. date — the fruit
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. rush — hurry
  10. squash — to crush
  11. shower — rain
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. court — for sport
  15. bear — the animal
  16. shower — to wash
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bear — the animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a bank

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