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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: last · game · face · present · cell · wound · board · bank

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cell — a phone
  3. present — a gift
  4. bank — for money
  5. face — to confront
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. last — final
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. present — there
  13. board — to get on
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. last — to go on
  17. board — a committee
  18. last — finally
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bank — of a river
  21. present — the time now
  22. bank — for money
  23. game — a match
  24. cell — in biology

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