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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. present — there
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. drill — a practice
  10. present — the time now
  11. drill — army training
  12. bank — for money
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. key — the most important part
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. sharp — clever
  18. drill — the tool
  19. game — a match
  20. present — a gift
  21. bank — of a river
  22. key — for a lock
  23. key — in music
  24. game — a kind of play

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