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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 116 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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Word bank
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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: wound · spell · cold · racket · firm · bank · wind · track

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. spell — letters
  3. track — a song
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bank — for money
  6. spell — a short time
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — a path
  9. spell — magic
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. firm — a company
  12. bank — for money
  13. wound — an injury
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bank — of a river
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wound — an injury
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. firm — decided
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. firm — steady
  23. track — to keep track
  24. wind — to turn a key

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