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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. spring — of water
  5. fine — all right
  6. spring — the season
  7. net — after costs
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. bank — for money
  11. spring — a coil
  12. scale — in music
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. chair — a leader
  17. net — for catching
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. net — in sport
  24. wind — moving air

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