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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: face · branch · shower · wound · patient · straw · row · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. face — to confront
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. branch — a division
  9. shower — rain
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. face — to point toward
  15. shower — to wash
  16. row — to paddle
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. row — a line
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wound — an injury
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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