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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: wake · squash · net · wind · bank · row · snap · object

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  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. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bank — of a river
  3. net — for catching
  4. bank — for money
  5. snap — to click
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. net — after costs
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. row — to paddle
  13. object — to protest
  14. bank — for money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. object — a thing
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. wake — a trail
  20. net — in sport
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. object — an aim
  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