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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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: bank · hand · clip · mine · fall · rash · wind · spell

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. mine — for digging
  3. spell — magic
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — to cut
  13. hand — help
  14. spell — letters
  15. bank — for money
  16. fall — the season
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bank — for money
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — a video
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. rash — on the skin

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