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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: temple · shower · sharp · wind · saw · toast · branch · club

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. shower — rain
  5. club — for dancing
  6. club — for golf
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — clever
  14. shower — to wash
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. club — a group
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — a division
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. toast — bread
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. temple — side of the head

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