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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bank — for money
  3. key — for a lock
  4. net — for catching
  5. key — the most important part
  6. press — newspapers
  7. field — a subject
  8. press — a publisher
  9. current — electric
  10. content — the amount
  11. press — to push
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — happy
  15. deal — to handle
  16. current — happening now
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. net — in sport
  19. current — of water
  20. key — in music
  21. net — after costs
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. bank — of a river
  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