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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 120 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: bass · rush · club · shower · tear · bank · court · march

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of law
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. march — music
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. bass — low music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bass — the fish
  9. club — for dancing
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. march — the month
  12. bank — for money
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bank — for money
  15. club — for golf
  16. court — of a king
  17. rush — hurry
  18. bank — of a river
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — rain
  22. tear — to rip
  23. shower — to wash
  24. club — a group

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