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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: wind · lie · last · suit · bark · land · bank · clip

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. land — to come down
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bank — of a river
  7. clip — for paper
  8. last — final
  9. suit — clothes
  10. last — to go on
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. land — a country
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bank — for money
  20. last — finally
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. suit — in cards
  23. land — ground
  24. bank — for money

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