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

Word bank: bowl · bark · key · bank · wind · cold · rock · game

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. rock — a stone
  6. game — wild animals
  7. key — in music
  8. game — a match
  9. cold — not warm
  10. key — the most important part
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. rock — music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bank — for money
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bank — for money
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. bank — of a river

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