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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. cue — a hint
  3. field — a subject
  4. land — to come down
  5. bound — tied together
  6. shower — rain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bank — for money
  9. field — farmland
  10. bank — for money
  11. tube — a container
  12. pit — a hole
  13. cue — a signal
  14. land — a country
  15. cue — for pool
  16. pit — in a race
  17. tube — the underground
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. bound — certain
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. field — for sport
  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