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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: drill · shower · branch · last · coach · spring · season · bear

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. season — of the year
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. spring — of water
  6. last — finally
  7. bear — the animal
  8. spring — a coil
  9. season — in sport
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. drill — a practice
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — a division
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. last — to go on
  17. shower — to wash
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. bear — the animal
  20. drill — army training
  21. last — final
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. shower — rain
  24. drill — the tool

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