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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: board · cabinet · bank · wind · clip · spell · can · pitcher

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wind — moving air
  4. board — a committee
  5. can — to be able to
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. bank — for money
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. can — a tin
  14. spell — a short time
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. can — a tin
  18. spell — letters
  19. clip — for paper
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. board — to get on
  24. wind — moving air

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