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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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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: net · bear · rock · capital · hand · shower · degree · bank

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. net — in sport
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. hand — in cards
  6. degree — an amount
  7. degree — from a university
  8. rock — music
  9. bank — for money
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. degree — temperature
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. rock — a stone
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bank — for money
  17. bear — the animal
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — after costs
  22. capital — a city
  23. bank — of a river
  24. hand — help

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