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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: mine · shower · game · net · bank · club · spell · sharp

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. bank — for money
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. game — a match
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. game — wild animals
  10. club — a group
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bank — of a river
  13. spell — a short time
  14. club — for golf
  15. bank — for money
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. shower — rain
  18. sharp — clever
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. net — after costs

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