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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: band · cap · degree · branch · hide · charge · shower · hand

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. cap — a hat
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. band — a music group
  8. shower — rain
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cap — a lid
  11. band — a ring
  12. hand — help
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hand — in cards
  15. shower — to wash
  16. branch — a division
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. charge — in control
  19. charge — a price
  20. cap — of ice
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. degree — an amount

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