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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: mine · bat · shower · coach · hide · bowl · row · branch

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. branch — a division
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — to paddle
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. row — a line
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. shower — rain
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. coach — a trainer

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