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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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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: tear · bowl · stem · branch · cue · shower · rule · wound

  1. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. cue — a hint
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — to wash
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — to come from
  16. branch — a division
  17. tear — from crying
  18. shower — rain
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — a law
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cue — for pool

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