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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. last — final
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. land — ground
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. last — finally
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. last — to go on
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. field — a subject
  13. content — happy
  14. bank — for money
  15. land — a country
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bank — for money
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. date — the fruit
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. bank — of a river

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