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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. chip — for betting
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. mate — to breed
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. mate — a friend
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. scale — in music
  13. bank — of a river
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. drill — the tool
  16. degree — temperature
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bank — for money
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. mate — a partner
  21. drill — a practice
  22. scale — size or range
  23. degree — an amount
  24. drill — army training

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