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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: bank · kid · scale · content · lie · staff · fall · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. fall — the season
  3. content — happy
  4. staff — employees
  5. bank — for money
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. fall — to drop
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. content — the amount
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. staff — employees
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. lie — to recline
  14. kid — child
  15. shower — rain
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bank — for money
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bank — of a river
  20. scale — in music
  21. staff — a stick
  22. scale — size or range
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. lie — an untruth

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