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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: branch · shower · capital · tear · chair · court · bore · lean

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bore — to tire
  8. chair — a leader
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. court — of law
  12. capital — a city
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bore — to drill
  15. court — for sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. lean — thin
  20. court — of a king
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. shower — rain
  23. lean — to bend
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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