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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 · bark · wind · club · wake · ground · bank · deal

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. club — for dancing
  3. wake — a trail
  4. hand — help
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. hand — in cards
  8. ground — a position
  9. bark — to shout
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. bank — for money
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bank — of a river
  16. ground — the earth
  17. wind — moving air
  18. club — a group
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. deal — to handle
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. club — for golf
  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