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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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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: wind · bowl · fork · shower · prune · wound · branch · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. shower — rain
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. spell — letters
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. spell — a short time
  15. wound — an injury
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wind — moving air
  19. shower — to wash
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fork — to eat with

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