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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: shower · mine · mark · court · bank · kid

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bank — of a river
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — child
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — rain
  9. mine — for digging
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. kid — to tease
  13. mark — a trace
  14. court — of law
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bank — for money
  17. shower — to wash
  18. court — of a king

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