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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: chest · game · wake · wound · bank · rest · fan · pound

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. chest — a box
  5. wake — a trail
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rest — what's left
  12. pound — a weight
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. game — a match
  16. wound — an injury
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. rest — what's left
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rest — a break

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