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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: chair · shower · mouse · can · nail · branch · season · scale

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. can — a tin
  6. shower — to wash
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. chair — a leader
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. scale — size or range
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. branch — a division
  22. scale — in music
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. season — in 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