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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'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bank — for money
  4. chip — to eat
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bank — of a river
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. shower — rain
  12. chip — for betting
  13. suit — to fit
  14. march — music
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. wax — to grow
  17. march — the month
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. row — to paddle
  20. game — a match
  21. game — wild animals
  22. row — a line
  23. march — the month
  24. shower — to wash

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