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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — of a river
  3. mine — for digging
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. court — of a king
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. court — for sport
  11. last — to go on
  12. rash — hasty
  13. net — for catching
  14. bank — for money
  15. season — of the year
  16. last — final
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to confront
  19. court — of law
  20. rash — a series
  21. last — finally
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. face — to point toward
  24. season — in sport

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