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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bank — for money
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kid — to tease
  5. season — in sport
  6. race — a contest
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. field — a subject
  9. bark — to shout
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. kid — child
  12. field — farmland
  13. pass — a permit
  14. race — humankind
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. season — of the year
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. race — the arms race
  20. field — for sport
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bank — for money

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