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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. rash — hasty
  3. land — to come down
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. net — in sport
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chest — a box
  8. land — ground
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. snap — to click
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. land — a country
  15. race — a contest
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. chest — of your body
  18. net — after costs
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rash — a series
  23. net — for catching
  24. race — humankind

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