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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: wound · stem · kid · pound · racket · date · bank · pit

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kid — child
  4. pound — a weight
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bank — for money
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bank — of a river
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pit — a hole
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. date — the fruit
  24. racket — for tennis

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