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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bank — for money
  3. field — a subject
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. bound — certain
  6. field — farmland
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bank — for money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bank — of a river
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. field — for sport
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bound — tied together
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. bound — obliged

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