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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: hand · bank · swing · bark · mine · track · pit · wind

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. hand — help
  3. track — a path
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. pit — a hole
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hand — in cards
  10. bank — of a river
  11. mine — for digging
  12. track — to keep track
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — to play on
  15. pit — in a race
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bank — for money
  18. wind — moving air
  19. track — a song
  20. swing — in golf
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bark — to shout

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