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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a great time
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bank — for money
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. net — in sport
  8. land — a country
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — help
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bank — for money
  13. net — for catching
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. land — to come down
  17. hand — in cards
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tear — from crying
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. net — after costs
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bank — of a river

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