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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: bark · jam · date · chest · coach · bank · wind · hand

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. hand — in cards
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. bank — for money
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. hand — help
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bark — to shout
  14. date — the fruit
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — moving air
  24. chest — a box

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