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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bank — for money
  7. field — for sport
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. field — farmland
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. tear — from crying
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. field — a subject
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. tear — to rip

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