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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.

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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: last · hand · safe · shower · fall · stock · branch · land

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hand — help
  3. last — finally
  4. branch — a division
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. last — to go on
  8. fall — the season
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. land — to come down
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. shower — to wash
  14. last — final
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. stock — shares
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stock — goods
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. shower — rain
  23. fall — to drop
  24. safe — out of danger

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