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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: date · fork · fan · shower · fall · field · bank · race

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. field — for sport
  4. shower — rain
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. fall — the season
  7. bank — for money
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bank — of a river
  12. field — farmland
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. race — humankind
  15. shower — to wash
  16. race — the arms race
  17. fork — in a road
  18. date — the fruit
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. race — a contest
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. field — a subject
  24. fork — to eat with

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