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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. bank — for money
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pit — a hole
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — rain
  9. bank — for money
  10. pit — in a race
  11. march — music
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. march — the month
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. land — ground
  18. land — a country
  19. bank — of a river
  20. march — the month
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. wake — a trail
  24. land — to come down

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