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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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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: shower · rush · hand · court · race · trunk · bank · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. court — for sport
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. race — humankind
  6. bank — for money
  7. race — a contest
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. shower — to wash
  10. hand — help
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. shower — rain
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rush — hurry
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bank — for money
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. court — of a king
  23. hand — in cards
  24. court — of law

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