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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 120 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 · spell · bear · march · cabinet · press · branch · mug

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. press — to push
  3. bear — the animal
  4. march — music
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. mug — to rob
  7. branch — a division
  8. spell — letters
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mug — a face
  12. shower — rain
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. spell — magic
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bear — the animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. mug — a cup
  19. press — a publisher
  20. press — newspapers
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. march — the month
  23. spell — a short time
  24. cabinet — ministers

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