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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: rush · bowl · shower · chip · board · key · branch · cold

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  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. bowl — a football final
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. board — to get on
  5. chip — for betting
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. shower — rain
  9. key — the most important part
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. board — a committee
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. branch — a division
  17. key — for a lock
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. key — in music
  23. branch — of a bank
  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