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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 120 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 going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. drill — the tool
  7. net — after costs
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. pitch — completely
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. stem — to come from
  13. bass — low music
  14. drill — army training
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bank — for money
  18. drill — a practice
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bass — the fish
  22. sharp — clever
  23. bank — of a river
  24. stem — a stem cell

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