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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. field — a subject
  3. scale — in music
  4. hand — in cards
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — for sport
  7. bank — for money
  8. hand — help
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. land — ground
  13. file — a line of people
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. scale — size or range
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bank — of a river
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  24. mark — a trace

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