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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bank — for money
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a match
  10. mate — a friend
  11. rock — a stone
  12. spring — of water
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bass — low music
  17. bank — for money
  18. spring — the season
  19. mate — to breed
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bank — of a river
  23. rock — music
  24. cold — an illness

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