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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. bank — for money
  3. net — in sport
  4. vault — a safe
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spell — magic
  7. land — to come down
  8. scale — in music
  9. land — ground
  10. bank — for money
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. scale — size or range
  15. fine — high quality
  16. net — after costs
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bank — of a river
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. spell — letters
  21. net — for catching
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spell — a short time
  24. land — a country

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