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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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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: bear · snap · pound · wind · cap · branch · shower · swing

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. shower — to wash
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bear — the animal
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cap — a hat
  10. snap — to click
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — rain
  15. swing — in golf
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. swing — music
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. pound — a weight
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a lid
  24. branch — a division

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