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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · pitcher · wind · mine · wound · bank · coach · file

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. file — a tool
  14. present — there
  15. file — a document
  16. mine — for digging
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — of a river
  19. file — a line of people
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. present — a gift
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wind — moving air

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