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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: branch · land · content · bore · squash · shower · wind · wake

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. bore — to tire
  5. bore — to drill
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. content — the amount
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. squash — the sport
  15. shower — rain
  16. land — ground
  17. content — happy
  18. land — a country
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wind — moving air
  21. branch — a division
  22. squash — to crush
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. land — to come down

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