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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. bank — for money
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bank — for money
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. swing — to play on
  8. field — for sport
  9. swing — in golf
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — final
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. last — finally
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. field — farmland
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. field — a subject
  23. swing — music
  24. bank — of a river

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