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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: craft · pass · file · chest · land · wound · bank · stem

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bank — for money
  3. chest — a box
  4. land — a country
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. file — a tool
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. land — ground
  10. pass — a permit
  11. chest — of your body
  12. land — to come down
  13. craft — a skill
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bank — for money
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. craft — boats
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bank — of a river

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