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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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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: wind · spring · snap · chip · hand · lean · sharp · bank

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bank — for money
  4. spring — a coil
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. sharp — clever
  7. hand — in cards
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. bank — for money
  13. snap — to click
  14. spring — of water
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — thin
  18. hand — help
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bank — of a river
  22. spring — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chip — to eat

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