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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bank — for money
  4. wake — a trail
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. land — a country
  8. hand — in cards
  9. drill — the tool
  10. drill — army training
  11. game — a match
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pit — a hole
  14. bank — for money
  15. land — ground
  16. squash — to crush
  17. hand — help
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. squash — the sport
  22. pit — in a race
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. land — to come down

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