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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bank — for money
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. last — finally
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. deal — to handle
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bound — tied together
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. bound — obliged
  12. kid — child
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. land — to come down
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. last — final
  17. land — ground
  18. shower — rain
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. land — a country
  21. bound — certain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. kid — to tease
  24. last — to go on

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