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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: branch · shower · cold · row · bear · bore · fall · band

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. bear — the animal
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. shower — to wash
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. branch — a division
  9. row — a line
  10. band — a ring
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. shower — rain
  18. bore — to drill
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bear — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bore — to tire

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