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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 116 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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468
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: chair · hand · leaves · field · bank · shower · racket · mine

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bank — for money
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. hand — help
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. bank — for money
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bank — of a river
  18. field — farmland
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — a subject
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. hand — part of the body

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