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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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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — the time now
  4. file — a tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. file — a line of people
  7. wound — an injury
  8. file — a document
  9. charge — a price
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. present — there
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wound — an injury
  15. charge — electricity
  16. stand — to bear
  17. charge — in control
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. tear — to rip
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bank — for money

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