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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pit — a hole
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bank — for money
  5. capital — money
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. file — a document
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fall — the season
  11. bank — of a river
  12. capital — a city
  13. sharp — clever
  14. file — a line of people
  15. wound — an injury
  16. file — a tool
  17. wound — an injury
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — the season
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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