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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: lash · land · nail · press · shower · court · sharp · bank

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bank — of a river
  5. press — a publisher
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. land — a country
  9. bank — for money
  10. court — for sport
  11. press — to push
  12. shower — rain
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. court — of law
  15. land — ground
  16. bank — for money
  17. shower — to wash
  18. press — newspapers
  19. sharp — clever
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. court — of a king
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. land — to come down

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