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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. march — music
  3. bank — for money
  4. march — the month
  5. bank — for money
  6. hand — in cards
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hand — help
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mug — a cup
  13. bank — of a river
  14. spell — magic
  15. mug — to rob
  16. game — a match
  17. spell — letters
  18. fall — the season
  19. squash — the sport
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. march — the month
  23. spell — a short time
  24. hand — part of the body

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