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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 124 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 · straw · content · shower · bore · date · wound · fan

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. shower — rain
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. date — the fruit
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bank — of a river
  12. shower — to wash
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. content — the amount
  15. bank — for money
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bank — for money
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wound — an injury

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