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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: kid · key · cell · bark · last · land · bank · squash

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. land — a country
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. bark — to shout
  9. last — final
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bank — for money
  14. land — ground
  15. squash — the sport
  16. cell — in biology
  17. squash — to crush
  18. last — finally
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. land — to come down
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. last — to go on

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