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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. bank — of a river
  3. fine — all right
  4. march — the month
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bank — for money
  8. court — for sport
  9. key — in music
  10. march — the month
  11. last — final
  12. court — of law
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — for a lock
  15. file — a tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. bank — for money
  18. march — music
  19. last — finally
  20. fine — high quality
  21. file — a line of people
  22. court — of a king
  23. pit — in a race
  24. file — a document

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