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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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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: club · degree · shower · cap · fork · bowl · arm · bank

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bank — of a river
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. club — for golf
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. bank — for money
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. degree — temperature
  12. club — for dancing
  13. club — a group
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cap — of ice
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. shower — rain
  18. bank — for money
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. degree — an amount
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. fork — in a road
  23. degree — from a university
  24. shower — to wash

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