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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: bank · date · shower · bowl · clip · bark · chip · row

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. shower — rain
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. shower — to wash
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bank — for money
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. chip — for betting
  10. bank — for money
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bark — to shout
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. date — the fruit
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. clip — to cut
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. row — a line
  21. chip — to eat
  22. row — to paddle
  23. clip — a video
  24. bowl — a dish

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