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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: shower · pit · field · bank · ruler · band · chest · plane

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — for money
  3. chest — of your body
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. shower — to wash
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. pit — a hole
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pit — in a race
  14. plane — a tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. band — a music group
  20. shower — rain
  21. chest — a box
  22. field — for sport
  23. bank — of a river
  24. plane — in geometry

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