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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. track — a path
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cold — an illness
  16. game — a match
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rash — a series
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — all right
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bank — for money
  24. game — wild animals

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