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

Word bank: chair · drill · kid · bank · shower · racket

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bank — for money
  4. shower — rain
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. shower — to wash
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. drill — the tool
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bank — for money
  13. drill — army training
  14. bank — of a river
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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