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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: cabinet · lean · bat · spell · shower · branch · date · snap

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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. lean — to bend
  4. spell — magic
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. branch — a division
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. lean — thin
  15. snap — to click
  16. spell — letters
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. shower — rain
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. bat — the animal
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. date — on the calendar

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