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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. field — a subject
  3. bank — of a river
  4. cap — of ice
  5. date — the fruit
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. fine — all right
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bank — for money
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. field — farmland
  16. wake — a trail
  17. field — for sport
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bank — for money
  22. spring — of water
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stand — for spectators

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