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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 · mark · wound · mine · board · face · saw · bank

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. face — part of the head
  3. land — to come down
  4. bank — for money
  5. saw — the tool
  6. land — ground
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a grade
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. face — to confront
  12. board — to get on
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. land — a country
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bank — for money
  18. wound — an injury
  19. board — a committee
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. bank — of a river
  22. mark — a trace
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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