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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: tube · bank · shower · pitcher · fall · bowl · branch · perch

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bank — for money
  10. perch — the fish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bank — of a river
  13. fall — the season
  14. branch — a division
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. bank — for money
  20. shower — rain
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. shower — to wash
  23. perch — for a bird
  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