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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 · coach · saw · branch · bear · wave · court · tear

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. shower — rain
  5. court — of law
  6. tear — to rip
  7. saw — the tool
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bear — the animal
  12. saw — the tool
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. tear — from crying
  15. court — for sport
  16. bear — the animal
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. branch — a division
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. court — of a king
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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