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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 116 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bank — for money
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. squash — the sport
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. degree — temperature
  8. mine — for digging
  9. squash — to crush
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. content — happy
  12. pitch — completely
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. content — the amount
  16. bear — the animal
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. degree — an amount
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. degree — from a university
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bank — for money
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. squash — the vegetable

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