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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 · stock · land · shower · straw · jam · net · race

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. race — the arms race
  5. land — ground
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. net — for catching
  8. race — a contest
  9. stock — shares
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — to wash
  12. net — in sport
  13. race — humankind
  14. bank — for money
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. land — a country
  17. net — after costs
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. bank — of a river
  20. shower — rain
  21. stock — goods
  22. land — to come down
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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