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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 116 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: trunk · racket · saw · wind · bank · land · cold · rock

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cold — not warm
  6. saw — the tool
  7. land — to come down
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. land — a country
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rock — a stone
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. saw — the tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bank — for money
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. rock — music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cold — an illness
  24. land — ground

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