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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. land — ground
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. spring — the season
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. degree — an amount
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bank — for money
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. degree — from a university
  15. spring — of water
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bank — for money
  18. land — a country
  19. chip — for betting
  20. spring — a coil
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. land — to come down
  23. chip — to eat
  24. degree — temperature

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