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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: row · branch · mine · chest · fork · trunk · rock · shower

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. chest — a box
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. shower — rain
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. rock — a stone
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. shower — to wash
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rock — music
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. branch — a division
  18. fork — in a road
  19. row — a line
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. row — a quarrel

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