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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bank — for money
  5. saw — the tool
  6. bank — for money
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wind — moving air
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pit — in a race
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — in cards
  15. land — ground
  16. kid — child
  17. pit — a hole
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. land — to come down
  21. saw — the tool
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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