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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: bank · tube · fine · march · row · wind · squash · court

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. bank — for money
  3. fine — all right
  4. wind — moving air
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. squash — the sport
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. row — a line
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. court — for sport
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. court — of law
  15. bank — for money
  16. court — of a king
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bank — of a river
  22. row — to paddle
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. march — the month

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