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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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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: shower · bear · mine · court · roll · cell · branch · rest

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. court — of law
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. branch — a division
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. roll — a cake
  18. rest — a break
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mine — for digging
  23. roll — a list
  24. bear — the animal

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