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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bank — for money
  4. date — the fruit
  5. pass — a permit
  6. bank — for money
  7. club — a group
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. last — finally
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wound — an injury
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wound — an injury
  16. last — to go on
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. last — final
  19. wind — moving air
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. bank — of a river
  22. club — for golf
  23. stem — to come from
  24. pass — to spend time

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