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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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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: row · kid · shower · cap · deal · branch · cold · bowl

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cap — a hat
  4. shower — to wash
  5. kid — child
  6. shower — rain
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. kid — to tease
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cap — of ice
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — a division
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cap — a lid
  23. row — a line
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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