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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: drill · bank · hand · mark · shower · squash · content · fork

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. fork — in a road
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bank — for money
  5. content — the amount
  6. shower — rain
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. hand — in cards
  9. squash — to crush
  10. drill — the tool
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. mark — a grade
  19. shower — to wash
  20. mark — a trace
  21. drill — army training
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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