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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 116 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 · hand · kid · season · board · bank

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. hand — in cards
  3. shower — rain
  4. board — to get on
  5. bank — of a river
  6. kid — to tease
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. shower — to wash
  9. hand — help
  10. board — a committee
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. kid — child
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. bank — for money
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. season — of the year

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