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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. land — to come down
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fall — to drop
  6. ground — a position
  7. band — a music group
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. rule — a law
  10. bank — for money
  11. fall — the season
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. band — a ring
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rule — government
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — a country
  19. wind — moving air
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. land — ground
  23. bank — for money
  24. ground — the earth

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