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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: band · shower · bass · field · bank · march · rush · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. march — the month
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — rain
  5. band — a ring
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. band — a music group
  9. bass — the fish
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bank — of a river
  16. rush — hurry
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — for sport
  19. march — music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. field — farmland
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. field — a subject
  24. bass — low music

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