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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. present — a gift
  3. fine — high quality
  4. net — for catching
  5. present — the time now
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bank — for money
  8. scale — in music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. bank — for money
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bank — of a river
  14. cap — a hat
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. scale — size or range
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chip — to eat
  21. present — there
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. chip — for betting

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