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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: march · squash · bank · land · wake · spell · file · net

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. file — a tool
  3. march — music
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wake — a trail
  6. net — in sport
  7. squash — the sport
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. land — to come down
  11. net — after costs
  12. spell — magic
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bank — of a river
  15. land — a country
  16. bank — for money
  17. spell — letters
  18. bank — for money
  19. spell — a short time
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. file — a document
  22. march — the month
  23. land — ground
  24. net — for catching

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