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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: date · bank · stock · stand · bass · cold · sharp · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bank — for money
  4. stock — goods
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — rain
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. bass — low music
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bank — for money
  19. bank — of a river
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stock — shares
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. date — on the calendar

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