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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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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. shower — to wash
  4. key — the most important part
  5. key — in music
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bank — for money
  8. chest — a box
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. tube — the underground
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. degree — from a university
  14. key — for a lock
  15. chest — of your body
  16. tube — a container
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. bank — of a river
  22. shower — rain
  23. degree — temperature
  24. chest — of your body

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