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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bank — of a river
  3. mug — to rob
  4. mug — a cup
  5. key — the most important part
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mug — a face
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cold — an illness
  11. last — final
  12. tube — the underground
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. key — in music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fall — the season
  18. tube — a container
  19. bank — for money
  20. key — for a lock
  21. bank — for money
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. tube — in a tire

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