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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 120 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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — wild animals
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bank — of a river
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. last — final
  12. spring — of water
  13. branch — a division
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. chip — for betting
  16. last — finally
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. bank — for money
  20. spring — the season
  21. game — a match
  22. last — to go on
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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