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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bank — for money
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bank — of a river
  5. saw — the tool
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. file — a tool
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wake — a trail
  14. file — a line of people
  15. bank — for money
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. foot — a measure
  18. saw — the tool
  19. file — a document
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. coach — a trainer

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