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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: lie · shower · stock · bank · kid · spring · snap · fork

  1. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. 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. lie — an untruth
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. stock — goods
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — rain
  6. bank — for money
  7. kid — to tease
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. bank — of a river
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. snap — to click
  17. lie — to recline
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bank — for money
  20. stock — shares
  21. fork — in a road
  22. kid — child
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. 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