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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: shower · pitcher · lean · branch · wave · field · court · rest

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. shower — to wash
  4. field — farmland
  5. branch — a division
  6. rest — a break
  7. field — for sport
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. lean — to bend
  11. lean — thin
  12. field — a subject
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rest — what's left
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. shower — rain
  20. court — of law
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. court — of a king
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. court — for sport

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