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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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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: mine · tear · shower · press · craft · branch · bark · ball

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. bark — to shout
  4. branch — a division
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ball — a dance
  7. tear — from crying
  8. ball — a great time
  9. craft — boats
  10. press — a publisher
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. shower — rain
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. press — to push
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — to rip
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. press — newspapers
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. craft — a skill

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