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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. band — a music group
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. saw — the tool
  9. field — a subject
  10. season — of the year
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. bank — of a river
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — rain
  17. field — farmland
  18. saw — the tool
  19. capital — money
  20. season — in sport
  21. band — a ring
  22. bank — for money
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. capital — a city

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