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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. key — for a lock
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bank — for money
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. band — a ring
  12. shower — rain
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. key — in music
  23. band — a music group
  24. bank — for money

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