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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 124 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. season — in sport
  2. drill — a practice
  3. face — to confront
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wound — an injury
  10. content — happy
  11. bank — for money
  12. wound — an injury
  13. season — of the year
  14. content — the amount
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — army training
  17. face — part of the head
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. mine — for digging
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. face — to point toward
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bat — for baseball
  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