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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. net — for catching
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. land — ground
  6. net — after costs
  7. bank — for money
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tube — a container
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. net — in sport
  13. bear — the animal
  14. bank — for money
  15. game — wild animals
  16. land — a country
  17. roll — a cake
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. game — a match
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bank — of a river
  23. roll — a list
  24. land — to come down

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