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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bank — for money
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. march — music
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ground — the earth
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. vault — a safe
  13. march — the month
  14. ground — crushed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. march — the month
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. ground — a position
  19. bank — of a river
  20. bass — low music
  21. cell — in biology
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. bank — for money
  24. cell — a phone

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