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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: land · fork · date · bank · mine · straw · content · ball

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bank — for money
  3. land — to come down
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fork — in a road
  12. land — ground
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. content — the amount
  17. bank — of a river
  18. date — the fruit
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a dance
  21. land — a country
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bank — for money
  24. content — happy

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