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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: lean · land · branch · roll · spell · chair · squash · shower

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. branch — a division
  3. land — to come down
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — to crush
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. squash — the sport
  8. shower — rain
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. land — a country
  11. lean — thin
  12. spell — magic
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. lean — to bend
  15. land — ground
  16. spell — a short time
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. roll — a cake
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. roll — a list
  23. chair — a leader
  24. roll — on a roll

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