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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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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: bank · face · spell · mine · bay · tear · field · drill

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spell — letters
  3. bank — for money
  4. tear — from crying
  5. field — for sport
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. drill — army training
  9. face — to confront
  10. field — farmland
  11. tear — from crying
  12. face — part of the head
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bank — for money
  17. spell — magic
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. face — to point toward
  20. bank — of a river
  21. spell — a short time
  22. drill — the tool
  23. field — a subject
  24. drill — a practice

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