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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 120 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: wake · lean · kick · shower · season · bank · wound · chest

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. season — of the year
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bank — of a river
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bank — for money
  15. chest — a box
  16. bank — for money
  17. wound — an injury
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — a trail
  20. season — in sport
  21. kick — in football
  22. chest — of your body
  23. shower — rain
  24. lean — thin

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