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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bank — for money
  4. charge — a price
  5. lean — to bend
  6. game — a match
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cold — an illness
  10. pitch — completely
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. charge — electricity
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bank — of a river
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. rush — hurry
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. game — wild animals
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. charge — in control

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