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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pit — a hole
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. spring — the season
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. spring — of water
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. pit — in a race
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — a coil
  15. roll — a list
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bank — of a river
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. roll — a cake
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. march — the month

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