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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: lean · branch · board · prune · cold · craft · shower · ball

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. board — a committee
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. shower — rain
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. ball — a great time
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. board — to get on
  11. shower — to wash
  12. branch — a division
  13. lean — to bend
  14. ball — a dance
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — not warm
  18. craft — boats
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. craft — a skill
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. cold — an illness
  23. lean — thin
  24. branch — of a bank

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