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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bat — the animal
  3. season — of the year
  4. hand — help
  5. root — the cause
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — electric
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. game — a match
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. current — of water
  13. bank — for money
  14. season — in sport
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bank — for money
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. root — of a word
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. root — of a plant
  23. hand — in cards
  24. game — wild animals

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