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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 · snap · bank · lie · field · land · bark · pitch

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. shower — to wash
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. land — a country
  6. pitch — completely
  7. bark — to shout
  8. field — for sport
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bank — for money
  12. snap — to click
  13. land — to come down
  14. lie — to recline
  15. field — farmland
  16. land — ground
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. shower — rain
  23. bank — for money
  24. pitch — a sports field

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