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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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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 · game · dip · tear · mate · wind · fork · stem

  1. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. mate — a partner
  3. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. fork — in a road
  6. bank — for money
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mate — to breed
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stem — to come from
  14. game — wild animals
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bank — of a river
  21. dip — to sink
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. bank — for money
  24. wind — moving air

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