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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 120 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 · shower · scale · clip · stem · cabinet · bank · fan

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — to cut
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bass — low music
  18. bank — for money
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bank — of a river
  22. clip — for paper
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. clip — a video

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