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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. mate — a friend
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. season — of the year
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. season — in sport
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bank — for money
  10. mate — to breed
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mate — a partner
  15. march — music
  16. bank — for money
  17. wind — moving air
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. march — the month

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