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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. squash — the sport
  3. land — to come down
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bank — for money
  6. land — ground
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. field — a subject
  14. squash — to crush
  15. field — farmland
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. bass — low music
  18. lean — to bend
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. field — for sport
  23. land — a country
  24. bass — the fish

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