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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. face — part of the head
  3. content — happy
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. bank — for money
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. content — the amount
  10. march — the month
  11. face — to point toward
  12. rest — what's left
  13. spring — the season
  14. march — music
  15. face — to confront
  16. bank — of a river
  17. pit — in a race
  18. march — the month
  19. rest — a break
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. pit — a hole
  23. rest — what's left
  24. content — videos and posts

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