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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 120 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. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. face — part of the head
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bank — for money
  5. last — to go on
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. kid — child
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. game — wild animals
  12. face — to point toward
  13. kid — to tease
  14. game — a match
  15. last — finally
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. face — to confront
  21. last — final
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bank — of a river
  24. arm — part of the body

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