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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bound — certain
  3. tear — to rip
  4. land — to come down
  5. row — to paddle
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — to tease
  8. land — ground
  9. bound — obliged
  10. field — farmland
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kid — child
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bank — of a river
  15. field — a subject
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. land — a country
  18. row — a line
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stock — shares
  21. bound — tied together
  22. field — for sport
  23. stock — goods
  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