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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bank — for money
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. field — a subject
  7. spring — a coil
  8. field — farmland
  9. deal — to handle
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. field — for sport
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. spring — the season
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. bank — of a river
  18. race — humankind
  19. date — the fruit
  20. race — a contest
  21. bank — for money
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spring — of water
  24. race — the arms race

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