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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: hand · fall · fine · vault · content · wind · game · bank

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. wind — moving air
  4. fine — high quality
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fine — all right
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. content — happy
  9. bank — for money
  10. game — wild animals
  11. content — the amount
  12. fall — the season
  13. bank — for money
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. bank — of a river
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. vault — a safe
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. game — a match
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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