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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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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: wind · field · sharp · track · firm · kid · bear · bank

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. firm — a company
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. field — farmland
  6. bank — for money
  7. sharp — clever
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. kid — child
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. track — a song
  14. field — a subject
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. wind — moving air
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bank — of a river
  20. field — for sport
  21. track — a path
  22. bank — for money
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. track — to keep track

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