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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: saw · bat · bank · wound · club · bound · season · lean

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. lean — thin
  3. lean — to bend
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — obliged
  7. saw — the tool
  8. club — a group
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bank — for money
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bank — of a river
  17. club — for dancing
  18. bound — tied together
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — the animal
  21. club — for golf
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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