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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: bark · patient · mine · vault · date · hand · bank · content

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — for money
  3. hand — in cards
  4. content — happy
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. date — the fruit
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bank — of a river
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. hand — help
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mine — for digging
  18. vault — a safe
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bark — to shout
  23. content — the amount
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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