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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — an illness
  3. drill — the tool
  4. can — a tin
  5. bank — for money
  6. chest — of your body
  7. can — a tin
  8. object — an aim
  9. club — for golf
  10. can — to be able to
  11. drill — army training
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bank — of a river
  14. club — a group
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. drill — a practice
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. chest — of your body
  21. object — a thing
  22. bank — for money
  23. object — to protest
  24. chest — a box

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