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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tube · bat · bank · toast · cap · wound · fine · ground

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. tube — a container
  3. cap — a hat
  4. fine — all right
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. bat — the animal
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. tube — the underground
  10. toast — bread
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. cap — of ice
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. ground — crushed
  17. bank — for money
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ground — a position
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bank — for money

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