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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: branch · bat · date · shower · content · snap · bank · present

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. present — there
  3. branch — a division
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bank — for money
  7. content — the amount
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — rain
  11. date — the fruit
  12. shower — to wash
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. content — happy
  19. snap — to click
  20. bank — for money
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. branch — of a tree

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