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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: bank · chest · rock · shower · court · season · fork · bass

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bank — for money
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chest — a box
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bass — low music
  9. season — of the year
  10. shower — rain
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. court — of law
  13. chest — of your body
  14. season — in sport
  15. bank — of a river
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. bank — for money
  20. court — for sport
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bass — the fish

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