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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: stick · cell · bark · wave · bat · pound · bank · squash

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bank — for money
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bank — for money
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bank — of a river
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bat — the animal
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pound — to hit hard

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