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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: shower · branch · rash · cold · bore · board · safe · field

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. rash — hasty
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. shower — to wash
  8. board — to get on
  9. rash — a series
  10. bore — to tire
  11. shower — rain
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. field — farmland
  17. cold — an illness
  18. branch — a division
  19. bore — to drill
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — a committee

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