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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: branch · cap · shower · kick · fork · patient · band · rule

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cap — of ice
  3. band — a music group
  4. rule — government
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kick — in football
  7. fork — in a road
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rule — a law
  10. cap — a lid
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cap — a hat
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. shower — to wash
  18. band — a ring
  19. branch — a division
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. shower — rain
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kick — with a leg

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