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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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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hand — help
  3. court — of a king
  4. field — farmland
  5. bank — of a river
  6. hand — in cards
  7. march — the month
  8. root — of a word
  9. field — a subject
  10. shower — to wash
  11. root — of a plant
  12. march — the month
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bank — for money
  16. root — the cause
  17. march — music
  18. field — for sport
  19. court — for sport
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. perch — the fish
  22. shower — rain
  23. bank — for money
  24. court — of law

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