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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: bank · land · shower · kid · game · cell · suit · bat

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. game — a match
  8. shower — rain
  9. cell — in biology
  10. kid — child
  11. game — wild animals
  12. land — a country
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bank — for money
  15. suit — to fit
  16. bank — of a river
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. suit — in cards
  19. kid — to tease
  20. land — to come down
  21. suit — clothes
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. land — ground
  24. bank — for money

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