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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. track — a song
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bank — for money
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bank — of a river
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tear — to rip
  11. last — final
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wind — moving air
  14. content — happy
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. track — a path
  17. bank — for money
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — magic
  21. last — to go on
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — the amount
  24. track — to keep track

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