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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: bank · cabinet · ground · rush · key · kid · wind · hand

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bank — for money
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. key — for a lock
  9. wind — moving air
  10. hand — help
  11. key — the most important part
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bank — for money
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bank — of a river
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. ground — crushed
  24. hand — in cards

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