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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bark — to shout
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — in sport
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wound — an injury
  11. season — in sport
  12. net — after costs
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. season — of the year
  16. file — a document
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. bank — for money
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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