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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: date · race · wake · hand · mine · fan · bank · fine

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. hand — in cards
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wake — a trail
  7. race — humankind
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fine — all right
  11. race — the arms race
  12. hand — help
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bank — for money
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bank — of a river
  21. race — a contest
  22. bank — for money
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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