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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bank — of a river
  5. cell — a phone
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — of law
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bank — for money
  12. shower — rain
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. cell — in biology
  17. court — for sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — to wash

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