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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: rest · leaves · shower · kick · branch · bat · bear · pop

  1. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pop — to visit
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. bat — the animal
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. pop — soda
  13. shower — to wash
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. shower — rain
  16. branch — a division
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. kick — in football
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. pop — music
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bear — the animal

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