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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: charge · field · shower · squash · cabinet · bank · cold · bass

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. field — a subject
  3. shower — rain
  4. charge — in control
  5. charge — electricity
  6. cold — an illness
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. charge — a price
  11. bass — low music
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. shower — to wash
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bank — of a river
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. field — for sport
  24. cold — not warm

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