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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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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: perch · court · shower · branch · trunk · last · drill · chip

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. court — for sport
  5. court — of a king
  6. last — finally
  7. drill — the tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. branch — a division
  11. perch — the fish
  12. court — of law
  13. chip — to eat
  14. last — final
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. shower — to wash
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. drill — army training
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. drill — a practice
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. chip — for betting
  24. branch — of a tree

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