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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 120 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: track · wound · swing · wake · bank · land · plane · wind

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. track — a path
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bank — for money
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. track — to keep track
  9. land — ground
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wind — moving air
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. bank — for money
  14. swing — music
  15. wake — a trail
  16. land — to come down
  17. track — a song
  18. plane — a tool
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bank — of a river
  21. wind — moving air
  22. land — a country
  23. swing — to play on
  24. wound — an injury

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