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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: fork · band · season · shower · rock · hand · coach · rush

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — in cards
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fork — in a road
  5. band — a music group
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. hand — help
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. season — of the year
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. rock — music
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. season — in sport
  21. rock — a stone
  22. band — a ring
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fork — a garden tool

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