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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bank — for money
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bank — of a river
  15. chest — a box
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. chest — of your body
  18. drill — army training
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bank — for money
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — a practice
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. chest — of your 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