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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: wave · bank · cell · file · mine · bat · perch · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. track — a song
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bat — the animal
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bank — for money
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. bank — for money
  10. file — a tool
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bank — of a river
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. file — a document
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. file — a line of people
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. perch — for a bird

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