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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bank · wind · hand · bass · leaves · snap · plane · squash

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bass — low music
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bank — for money
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bank — of a river
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wind — moving air
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. bass — the fish
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bank — for money

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