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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: mate · mine · jam · shower · stock · pop · kid · bank

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  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. jam — to spread on bread
  2. kid — child
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. stock — shares
  5. pop — soda
  6. bank — of a river
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pop — to visit
  9. mate — a partner
  10. shower — to wash
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bank — for money
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pop — music
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bank — for money
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stock — goods
  22. shower — rain
  23. mine — belonging to me
  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