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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: season · jam · pound · wind · clip · bank · land · firm

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. season — in sport
  5. land — to come down
  6. firm — steady
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. firm — decided
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. clip — for paper
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. land — ground
  16. clip — to cut
  17. firm — a company
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. bank — for money
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. season — of the year
  22. land — a country
  23. clip — a video
  24. bank — of a river

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