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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 ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. mark — a grade
  4. last — to go on
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rash — a series
  7. field — a subject
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. last — final
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — hasty
  14. bank — for money
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bank — of a river
  18. last — finally
  19. cold — an illness
  20. sharp — clever
  21. field — for sport
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. cold — not warm

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