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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 116 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: saw · pound · last · branch · wind · shower · rash · cell

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. pound — a weight
  3. last — final
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. shower — to wash
  8. branch — a division
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — in biology
  11. last — to go on
  12. rash — a series
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. shower — rain
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. saw — the tool
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rash — hasty
  24. last — finally

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