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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. chip — for betting
  5. present — a gift
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. content — happy
  8. game — wild animals
  9. spring — the season
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. capital — money
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. saw — the tool
  16. game — a match
  17. capital — a city
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. content — the amount
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  24. chip — to eat

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