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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 120 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: wind · court · mine · pit · bear · degree · can · bank

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pit — a hole
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. can — a tin
  6. degree — from a university
  7. pit — in a race
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. court — for sport
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. court — of a king
  12. bank — for money
  13. court — of law
  14. bank — for money
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bank — of a river
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. degree — temperature
  24. can — a tin

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