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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: game · drill · bank · shower · stock · sharp · field · bore

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — for money
  4. shower — rain
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. game — wild animals
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. game — a match
  11. bank — of a river
  12. stock — shares
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — to tire
  18. drill — the tool
  19. field — farmland
  20. drill — a practice
  21. shower — to wash
  22. drill — army training
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stock — goods

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