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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 120 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. court — of law
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. court — of a king
  11. last — to go on
  12. land — a country
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bank — of a river
  15. land — to come down
  16. tear — to rip
  17. last — finally
  18. tear — from crying
  19. court — for sport
  20. bank — for money
  21. perch — the fish
  22. land — ground
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. last — final

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