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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 116 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: pitcher · land · branch · wind · last · racket · wound · bank

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bank — for money
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. last — finally
  5. wind — moving air
  6. land — a country
  7. bank — for money
  8. last — final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wind — moving air
  13. land — ground
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — to come down
  17. bank — of a river
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. last — to go on
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. branch — a division

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