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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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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: wake · rush · present · club · branch · cap · chest · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. branch — a division
  5. present — there
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. cap — a hat
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cap — of ice
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. chest — a box
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. club — for golf
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cap — a lid
  17. present — a gift
  18. shower — rain
  19. club — a group
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rush — hurry
  22. present — the time now
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. wake — a trail

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