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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bank — of a river
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bank — for money
  5. spell — letters
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — to come down
  8. spell — magic
  9. bank — for money
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pit — a hole
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. spell — a short time
  16. board — to get on
  17. field — farmland
  18. board — a committee
  19. land — a country
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pit — in a race
  22. game — a match
  23. tear — to rip
  24. land — ground

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