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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: rule · shower · bank · bulb · field · file · bark · land

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. land — ground
  3. field — for sport
  4. bulb — for light
  5. rule — a law
  6. file — a document
  7. land — to come down
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. field — farmland
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rule — government
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. field — a subject
  16. bank — for money
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. shower — rain
  21. bank — for money
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. land — a country

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