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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. bank — for money
  6. rest — what's left
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. rest — a break
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. race — the arms race
  12. race — a contest
  13. field — farmland
  14. bank — of a river
  15. dip — to sink
  16. game — a match
  17. field — for sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. field — a subject
  21. race — humankind
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bank — for money
  24. wake — a trail

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