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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. bank — for money
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. root — the cause
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. race — a contest
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. race — humankind
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lie — to recline
  19. wake — a trail
  20. root — of a plant
  21. bank — of a river
  22. root — of a word
  23. race — the arms race
  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