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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. wound — an injury
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. pit — in a race
  5. snap — to click
  6. file — a document
  7. bank — for money
  8. cell — in biology
  9. wound — an injury
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. march — the month
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. pit — a hole
  20. march — the month
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bank — for money
  23. march — music
  24. mark — a trace

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