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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. bank — of a river
  10. rest — a break
  11. land — a country
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. land — ground
  14. spring — of water
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. spring — a coil
  17. craft — boats
  18. spring — the season
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. land — to come down
  24. bank — for money

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