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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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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. bank — of a river
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. spring — a coil
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. spring — of water
  7. mug — a cup
  8. kid — child
  9. net — after costs
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spring — the season
  13. net — in sport
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. mug — to rob
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. kid — to tease
  24. field — a subject

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