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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bank — of a river
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chest — a box
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bark — to shout
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bank — for money
  13. shower — rain
  14. bank — for money
  15. field — farmland
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — a phone
  19. field — for sport
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. field — a subject
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wake — before a funeral

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