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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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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: present · club · cue · bank · field · hide · tear · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cue — a signal
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bank — for money
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — there
  8. field — farmland
  9. club — for golf
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cue — for pool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bank — for money
  16. present — a gift
  17. shower — rain
  18. field — a subject
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. club — a group
  21. present — the time now
  22. bank — of a river
  23. club — for dancing
  24. tear — to rip

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