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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: branch · game · wax · shower · jam · season · capital · row

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. shower — rain
  3. branch — a division
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. row — a line
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. shower — to wash
  8. row — to paddle
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. capital — a city
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. season — of the year
  17. game — a match
  18. season — in sport
  19. capital — money
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wax — to grow
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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