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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: shower · fall · hand · stem · drill · spell · squash · branch

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. spell — letters
  3. shower — to wash
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. branch — a division
  12. drill — army training
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. fall — the season
  17. drill — a practice
  18. drill — the tool
  19. spell — a short time
  20. fall — to drop
  21. hand — help
  22. stem — to come from
  23. squash — the sport
  24. spell — magic

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