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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 120 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: mine · bank · hand · club · object · cold · saw · land

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bank — for money
  3. club — a group
  4. cold — not warm
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. object — a thing
  7. cold — an illness
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bank — for money
  12. object — to protest
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bank — of a river
  15. hand — in cards
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. land — ground
  19. hand — help
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. saw — the tool
  23. land — a country
  24. land — to come down

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