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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: pop · mine · bank · kick · hand · charge · shower · patient

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mine — for digging
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. charge — electricity
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pop — music
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. shower — to wash
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. shower — rain
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. pop — to visit
  19. kick — in football
  20. hand — help
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pop — soda
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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