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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. court — for sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. last — to go on
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. last — final
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. date — the fruit
  12. field — a subject
  13. field — farmland
  14. last — finally
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. court — of a king
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. field — for sport
  19. court — of law
  20. bark — to shout
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. wind — moving air
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. wind — moving air

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