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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: band · bat · bank · shower · rest · saw · kid · drill

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. saw — the tool
  8. kid — child
  9. rest — a break
  10. bat — the animal
  11. band — a ring
  12. rest — what's left
  13. band — a music group
  14. bank — of a river
  15. rest — what's left
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — rain
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — for money
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — army training
  24. kid — to tease

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