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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: shower · net · swing · pitch · stock · bank · fan · kick

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. net — for catching
  3. kick — in football
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pitch — completely
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. net — in sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bank — for money
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. swing — music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. swing — to play on
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. net — after costs

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