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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: band · pitcher · can · hide · shower · cold · spring · branch

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cold — an illness
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. branch — a division
  6. band — a music group
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. can — a tin
  11. shower — rain
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. spring — of water
  14. cold — not warm
  15. band — a ring
  16. spring — the season
  17. can — to be able to
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. spring — a coil
  20. can — a tin
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. shower — to wash

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