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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: bark · hand · wake · ground · branch · racket · shower · suit

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — to shout
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wake — a trail
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ground — the earth
  13. shower — rain
  14. suit — clothes
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. ground — a position
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. suit — in cards
  21. hand — help
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. racket — for tennis

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