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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: squash · rash · shower · land · mine · branch · vault · trunk

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. land — a country
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — hasty
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. mine — for digging
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. squash — the sport
  12. rash — a series
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. squash — to crush
  16. branch — a division
  17. land — ground
  18. vault — a safe
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. shower — to wash
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. land — to come down
  24. shower — rain

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