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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. last — to go on
  3. present — a gift
  4. content — happy
  5. present — there
  6. bank — for money
  7. present — the time now
  8. club — for golf
  9. degree — an amount
  10. last — finally
  11. file — a document
  12. club — for dancing
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. file — a tool
  16. content — the amount
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. club — a group
  20. last — final
  21. file — a line of people
  22. degree — from a university
  23. bank — for money
  24. degree — temperature

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