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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: court · wind · stock · toast · tube · bank · chest · land

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. land — ground
  4. stock — goods
  5. chest — a box
  6. court — of law
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. court — of a king
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. tube — the underground
  12. wind — moving air
  13. land — a country
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stock — shares
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tube — a container
  18. land — to come down
  19. chest — of your body
  20. toast — bread
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. chest — of your body
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. court — for sport

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