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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. bank — for money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. net — in sport
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitch — completely
  12. squash — the sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rest — what's left
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. net — for catching
  19. squash — to crush
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bank — of a river
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bat — the animal

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