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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bank — for money
  3. bat — the animal
  4. file — a document
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. present — the time now
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. content — the amount
  10. game — a match
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. present — there
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. shower — rain
  17. present — a gift
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. content — happy
  20. file — a line of people
  21. game — wild animals
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. file — a tool

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