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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: shower · rock · mate · capital · stand · net · cue · branch

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. branch — a division
  3. cue — a signal
  4. stand — to bear
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mate — a partner
  7. net — in sport
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. rock — a stone
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cue — for pool
  12. mate — a friend
  13. net — for catching
  14. cue — a hint
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. mate — to breed
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. net — after costs
  24. shower — rain

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