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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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468
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: content · bark · shower · suit · wave · fall · capital · branch

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. content — happy
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. suit — to fit
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bark — to shout
  11. content — the amount
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. fall — the season
  16. branch — a division
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. suit — clothes
  22. suit — in cards
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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