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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: spring · rock · shower · net · fan · fork · game · bank

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. net — in sport
  3. rock — a stone
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. rock — music
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bank — for money
  11. spring — a coil
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fork — in a road
  18. net — for catching
  19. spring — of water
  20. bank — for money
  21. net — after costs
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bank — of a river
  24. spring — the season

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