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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. firm — a company
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. field — a subject
  6. firm — steady
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. firm — decided
  10. field — for sport
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bank — for money
  14. pop — to visit
  15. spell — letters
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spell — a short time
  18. field — farmland
  19. pop — soda
  20. bank — of a river
  21. pop — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. spell — magic

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