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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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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: wave · craft · tear · bank · wound · chair · trunk · band

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. chair — a leader
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. tear — from crying
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. tear — from crying
  10. craft — boats
  11. wound — an injury
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wound — an injury
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bank — for money
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. band — a ring
  20. bank — of a river
  21. tear — to rip
  22. craft — a skill
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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