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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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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 · shower · fork · tear · march · kick · wound · charge

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. charge — a price
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. charge — in control
  8. charge — electricity
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bank — of a river
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kick — in football
  13. bank — for money
  14. tear — to rip
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. march — music
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. bank — for money
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — rain

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