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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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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. bank — for money
  4. row — to paddle
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. hand — in cards
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. last — finally
  9. rest — what's left
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. last — final
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pound — a weight
  14. hand — help
  15. spring — the season
  16. rest — a break
  17. row — a line
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spring — of water
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. spring — a coil

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