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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: chair · tear · bass · branch · band · trunk · shower · content

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. tear — from crying
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. content — happy
  6. band — a music group
  7. chair — a leader
  8. band — a ring
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. content — the amount
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. shower — to wash

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