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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: hand · tear · wind · calf · bay · cap · bat · bank

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — the animal
  6. cap — of ice
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cap — a hat
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bank — of a river
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bank — for money
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bay — a horse colour

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