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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: chest · shower · bank · swing · last · roll · rock · field

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. last — finally
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. shower — rain
  5. swing — music
  6. roll — a cake
  7. field — farmland
  8. last — to go on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. chest — of your body
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bank — of a river
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rock — music
  15. roll — a list
  16. field — for sport
  17. bank — for money
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. last — final
  20. swing — to play on
  21. chest — a box
  22. rock — a stone
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. field — a subject

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