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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 · wind · bank · pop · branch · content · deal · track

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — music
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pop — soda
  11. content — happy
  12. track — to keep track
  13. shower — rain
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. bank — for money
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bank — for money
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. track — a song
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. track — a path
  24. deal — to handle

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