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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. file — a line of people
  3. game — a match
  4. file — a tool
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — wild animals
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — help
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bank — for money
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. file — a document
  20. stem — to come from
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  24. bank — for money

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