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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 124 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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. present — there
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bank — for money
  5. court — for sport
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. bank — for money
  9. kid — child
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. court — of a king
  14. tube — the underground
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. court — of law
  18. tube — a container
  19. kid — to tease
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. date — the fruit
  22. present — the time now
  23. stock — goods
  24. present — a gift

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