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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 a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. spell — magic
  4. bank — of a river
  5. key — the most important part
  6. season — in sport
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bank — for money
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. spell — letters
  14. bank — for money
  15. shower — rain
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. key — in music
  19. key — for a lock
  20. bark — to shout
  21. spell — a short time
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. season — of the year
  24. stand — on your feet

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