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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. lie — to recline
  3. tear — to rip
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bank — for money
  7. chip — to eat
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. tear — from crying
  12. spring — a coil
  13. drill — the tool
  14. spring — the season
  15. mine — for digging
  16. drill — a practice
  17. field — farmland
  18. drill — army training
  19. field — for sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. chip — for betting
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. spring — of water
  24. bank — for money

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