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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. bank — for money
  5. scale — in music
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. tear — from crying
  8. field — for sport
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bank — of a river
  13. game — a match
  14. capital — a city
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. field — a subject
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bank — for money
  22. field — farmland
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. scale — size or range

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