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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: pound · fan · current · prune · branch · shower · wake · pitcher

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. shower — to wash
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. shower — rain
  6. current — electric
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. prune — to trim
  14. branch — a division
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. current — of water
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. pound — a weight
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. wake — a trail

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