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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 the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bound — tied together
  4. scale — size or range
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mug — a cup
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. land — to come down
  11. mug — to rob
  12. file — a tool
  13. bank — for money
  14. bound — certain
  15. bank — for money
  16. mug — a face
  17. chair — a leader
  18. bound — obliged
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. file — a line of people
  21. scale — in music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. land — a country
  24. file — a document

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