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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: kid · bank · wake · cabinet · squash · fall · chest · mark

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. kid — to tease
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. squash — the sport
  6. bank — of a river
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — to crush
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. kid — child
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. mark — a grade
  18. chest — of your body
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — for money

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