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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. stock — goods
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. mine — for digging
  6. present — there
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. field — for sport
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. stock — shares
  12. cell — in biology
  13. present — the time now
  14. field — a subject
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. field — farmland
  17. face — to confront
  18. present — a gift
  19. face — part of the head
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. face — to point toward
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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