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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rule — government
  5. squash — the sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. land — a country
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. squash — to crush
  11. land — to come down
  12. bank — for money
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — a law
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. shower — to wash
  19. land — ground
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. shower — rain
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bank — of a river
  24. degree — temperature

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