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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bank — for money
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bank — of a river
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bank — for money
  9. spell — letters
  10. net — after costs
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. spell — magic
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. game — wild animals

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