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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 going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. field — a subject
  3. mark — a grade
  4. clip — to cut
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. mark — a trace
  9. ball — a dance
  10. net — for catching
  11. ball — a great time
  12. net — after costs
  13. land — ground
  14. field — farmland
  15. bank — of a river
  16. field — for sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. land — to come down
  20. clip — a video
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. land — a country
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. bank — for money

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