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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. ground — a position
  3. bank — for money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. bank — of a river
  7. pop — soda
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. hand — help
  11. hand — in cards
  12. last — final
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pop — to visit
  15. last — finally
  16. pop — music
  17. mark — a trace
  18. wind — moving air
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. ground — crushed
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. mark — a grade
  23. bank — for money
  24. ground — the earth

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