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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: land · shower · fork · saw · game · firm · bank · mine

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bank — for money
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bank — for money
  10. game — wild animals
  11. saw — the tool
  12. land — to come down
  13. shower — rain
  14. fork — in a road
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. bank — of a river
  19. firm — decided
  20. saw — the tool
  21. firm — steady
  22. firm — a company
  23. game — a match
  24. mine — for digging

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