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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 116 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: cabinet · shower · fine · deal · fall · last · branch · clip

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. fine — high quality
  4. fall — to drop
  5. last — final
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fine — all right
  10. fall — to drop
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. last — finally
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. clip — to cut
  17. deal — to handle
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. branch — a division
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — the season
  24. shower — to wash

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