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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: fork · land · object · band · shower · lean

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. object — to protest
  3. object — an aim
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. object — a thing
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — thin
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — to come down
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — to eat with

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