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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 116 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: wound · bass · hand · bank · game · row · craft · pass

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bank — of a river
  4. game — wild animals
  5. craft — a skill
  6. bank — for money
  7. row — to paddle
  8. pass — a permit
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. bass — low music
  13. craft — boats
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. game — a match
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bank — for money
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. row — a line

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