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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. land — to come down
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bank — of a river
  5. wound — an injury
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bank — for money
  11. wound — an injury
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — thin
  14. march — the month
  15. lean — to bend
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. march — music
  20. bear — the animal
  21. field — farmland
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bear — the animal
  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