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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  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. game — a match
  3. cold — not warm
  4. last — final
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. perch — the fish
  9. squash — to crush
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. game — wild animals
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. cold — an illness
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. squash — the sport
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. last — finally
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  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