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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 · shower · bear · pop · cell · straw · saw · dip

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. saw — the tool
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. shower — rain
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — for money
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. shower — to wash
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. cell — a phone
  19. pop — music
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bank — of a river
  24. dip — to sink

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