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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bank — for money
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. game — a match
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bank — for money
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bank — of a river
  11. mark — a grade
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. game — wild animals
  15. land — a country
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. board — to get on
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. land — to come down
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bat — the animal
  22. rash — a series
  23. mark — a trace
  24. mark — to pay attention

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