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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: bass · mine · spring · temple · shower · pound · race · bank

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. bank — for money
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bank — for money
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. race — the arms race
  10. pound — a weight
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mine — for digging
  14. spring — of water
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. spring — the season
  17. race — humankind
  18. bass — low music
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. shower — rain
  21. race — a contest
  22. bank — of a river
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bass — the fish

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