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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: stock · wave · shower · arm · cap · spell · branch · sharp

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. spell — a short time
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stock — goods
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. stock — shares
  7. shower — rain
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cap — of ice
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. spell — magic
  21. cap — a hat
  22. spell — letters
  23. sharp — clever
  24. branch — a division

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