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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 the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bank — of a river
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. land — to come down
  6. bank — for money
  7. net — for catching
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. bank — for money
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. chest — of your body
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. net — after costs
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. net — in sport
  16. land — a country
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — in music
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. chest — a box

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