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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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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: shower · bat · club · spell · land · rock · bank · pop

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  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. bank — for money
  2. land — to come down
  3. rock — a stone
  4. pop — soda
  5. pop — music
  6. club — for golf
  7. bank — for money
  8. spell — magic
  9. bank — of a river
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bat — the animal
  15. club — for dancing
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. spell — a short time
  18. rock — music
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spell — letters
  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