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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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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: hand · bank · tube · chest · bear · fall · wind · leaves

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. chest — of your body
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chest — of your body
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bank — for money
  7. fall — the season
  8. wind — moving air
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. tube — the underground
  14. chest — a box
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bank — of a river
  19. fall — to drop
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. wind — moving air
  23. hand — help
  24. bank — for money

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