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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bank — for money
  3. wake — a trail
  4. land — a country
  5. present — the time now
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bank — of a river
  8. court — of law
  9. band — a music group
  10. land — to come down
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. present — there
  17. bank — for money
  18. bark — to shout
  19. court — for sport
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. present — a gift
  22. court — of a king
  23. band — a ring
  24. bark — of a tree

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