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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: bat · hide · bank · mine · racket · chest · fall · jam

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. chest — of your body
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. fall — the season
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. bank — of a river
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. fall — to drop
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bat — the animal
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. bank — for money
  24. bat — for baseball

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