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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mug — a face
  3. bank — for money
  4. file — a tool
  5. scale — size or range
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. bank — for money
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. mug — to rob
  11. pitch — completely
  12. spring — of water
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. spring — a coil
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bank — of a river
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. file — a document
  20. saw — the tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. mug — a cup
  24. scale — in music

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