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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: band · hand · jam · shower · mark · bowl · rest · rock

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. band — a ring
  3. rock — music
  4. band — a music group
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hand — in cards
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. hand — help
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. rest — a break
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. rock — a stone
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. mark — a trace
  21. shower — rain
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. mark — a grade

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