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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: shower · jam · face · drill · cabinet · game · branch · kid

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. kid — to tease
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. branch — a division
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. drill — army training
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. game — a match
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — to point toward
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. drill — a practice
  18. shower — to wash
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. kid — child
  21. game — wild animals
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. face — part of the head

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