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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: march · present · shower · cell · branch · mine · bowl · rock

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. shower — to wash
  4. march — the month
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. branch — a division
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. present — the time now
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. rock — a stone
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. present — there
  19. march — music
  20. shower — rain
  21. rock — music
  22. cell — in biology
  23. present — a gift
  24. bowl — to roll

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