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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bass — the fish
  3. cell — in biology
  4. land — a country
  5. present — the time now
  6. field — farmland
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. land — to come down
  11. bank — for money
  12. cell — a phone
  13. field — for sport
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. present — a gift
  16. bank — for money
  17. field — a subject
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bank — of a river
  24. land — ground

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