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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mine — for digging
  3. wound — an injury
  4. field — for sport
  5. land — a country
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. last — final
  9. land — to come down
  10. last — finally
  11. field — a subject
  12. bank — for money
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. last — to go on
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — ground
  18. bank — of a river
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. field — farmland
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mouse — for a computer

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