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

Word bank: pound · wave · fall · rule · bank · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rule — a law
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pound — a weight
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bank — for money
  9. rule — government
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. game — a match
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. bank — of a river
  18. 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