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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bank — of a river
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bank — for money
  5. lean — thin
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cold — an illness
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. club — a group
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. cold — not warm
  16. club — for dancing
  17. pop — soda
  18. club — for golf
  19. bank — for money
  20. pop — to visit
  21. lie — to recline
  22. pop — music
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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