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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. race — humankind
  3. spring — of water
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. degree — from a university
  6. field — farmland
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. field — for sport
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bank — for money
  15. toast — bread
  16. field — a subject
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. saw — the tool
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. bank — of a river
  21. race — a contest
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. saw — the tool
  24. degree — an amount

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