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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: row · date · bank · wound · game · nail · sharp · wake

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bank — for money
  3. wound — an injury
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wake — a trail
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bank — of a river
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. row — a line
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bank — for money
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. row — to paddle
  19. game — a match
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. game — wild animals
  22. date — the fruit
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. row — a quarrel

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