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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. bank — for money
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. kid — to tease
  5. file — a document
  6. bank — of a river
  7. can — to be able to
  8. spell — letters
  9. kid — child
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cell — a phone
  12. ground — crushed
  13. can — a tin
  14. file — a tool
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fine — all right
  17. ground — a position
  18. bank — for money
  19. can — a tin
  20. spell — magic
  21. cell — in biology
  22. file — a line of people
  23. spell — a short time
  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