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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 · deal · branch · pound · spring · season · can · bore

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. branch — a division
  3. season — of the year
  4. spring — of water
  5. can — a tin
  6. bore — to tire
  7. shower — to wash
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. season — in sport
  10. spring — the season
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. can — to be able to
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. can — a tin
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. spring — a coil
  19. pound — a weight
  20. shower — rain
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. deal — to handle
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. bore — to drill

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