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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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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: fork · cell · bank · coach · wound · bound · field · mine

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. field — farmland
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. bank — for money
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cell — a phone
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bound — certain
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bound — tied together
  16. bound — obliged
  17. field — a subject
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. field — for sport
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bank — for money
  24. fork — in a road

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