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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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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: shower · chest · band · field · pop · staff · leaves · bank

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bank — of a river
  4. field — for sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — to visit
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. band — a ring
  10. field — a subject
  11. chest — a box
  12. bank — for money
  13. band — a music group
  14. field — farmland
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. chest — of your body
  17. staff — employees
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bank — for money
  20. staff — a stick
  21. pop — music
  22. staff — employees
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. shower — rain

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