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

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bank — for money
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. roll — a cake
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. net — for catching
  11. season — in sport
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bank — for money
  15. season — of the year
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a ring
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — to come from
  20. roll — a list
  21. wind — moving air
  22. net — after costs
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. wind — moving air

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