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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. bank — for money
  5. last — final
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bound — tied together
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. land — a country
  10. march — music
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bound — obliged
  13. land — ground
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. land — to come down
  16. last — finally
  17. fork — in a road
  18. march — the month
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. march — the month
  23. bound — certain
  24. last — to go on

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