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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 going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bark — to shout
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. land — to come down
  10. bank — for money
  11. row — a line
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. land — a country
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bank — of a river
  19. land — ground
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. swing — to play on
  23. row — to paddle
  24. swing — music

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