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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spell — magic
  4. row — to paddle
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. stem — to come from
  8. spell — a short time
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. file — a line of people
  11. bank — of a river
  12. file — a tool
  13. spell — letters
  14. row — a line
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bank — for money
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. file — a document
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bank — for money
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. board — a committee

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