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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 120 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: pitcher · branch · shower · cold · fine · leaves · charge · rock

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. rock — music
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rock — a stone
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. cold — an illness
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fine — all right
  14. shower — rain
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. shower — to wash
  21. charge — a price
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. branch — a division
  24. fine — a penalty

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