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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bank — for money
  3. hand — in cards
  4. wound — an injury
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. land — to come down
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bank — for money
  11. land — ground
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bank — of a river
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wound — an injury
  22. land — a country
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. straw — dry grass

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