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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bank — for money
  3. last — finally
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bank — for money
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. net — in sport
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. bank — of a river
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. lean — to bend
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a great time
  17. tear — from crying
  18. last — to go on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. net — after costs
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. net — for catching
  24. last — final

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