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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. last — finally
  4. rash — hasty
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bank — for money
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. last — to go on
  10. wound — an injury
  11. last — final
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. hand — help
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bank — of a river
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. toast — bread
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. rash — a series

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