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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. row — to paddle
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. rest — what's left
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. hand — in cards
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. hand — help
  18. branch — a division
  19. date — the fruit
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. row — a line
  24. rest — a break

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