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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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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 · band · bulb · tear · shower · rock · court · cell

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. shower — rain
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. court — of a king
  5. rock — music
  6. court — for sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bank — for money
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cell — a phone
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bank — for money
  19. band — a ring
  20. rock — a stone
  21. court — of law
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cell — in a prison

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