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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: fan · wound · club · hand · tube · spring · bank · object

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bank — of a river
  4. object — a thing
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bank — for money
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. club — for dancing
  10. spring — a coil
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bank — for money
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. hand — in cards
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. spring — of water
  18. object — to protest
  19. spring — the season
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — a container
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hand — help

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