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

Word bank: dip · mine · bank · pit · toast · tear · game · file

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. game — wild animals
  3. bank — for money
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. pit — a hole
  6. file — a line of people
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. game — a match
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bank — of a river
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. dip — to sink
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. pit — in a race
  23. bank — for money
  24. mine — an explosive

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