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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. capital — money
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. can — a tin
  8. mate — a friend
  9. race — a contest
  10. can — to be able to
  11. bank — of a river
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mine — for digging
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bank — for money
  17. file — a tool
  18. can — a tin
  19. capital — a city
  20. race — humankind
  21. file — a document
  22. mate — a partner
  23. pitch — completely
  24. race — the arms race

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