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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 116 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. shower — to wash
  3. season — in sport
  4. land — ground
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bank — for money
  10. drill — the tool
  11. mate — a partner
  12. hand — help
  13. drill — army training
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mate — a friend
  16. present — a gift
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. season — of the year
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bank — for money
  21. land — to come down
  22. mate — to breed
  23. shower — rain
  24. land — a country

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