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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bank — for money
  3. hand — help
  4. net — in sport
  5. bank — of a river
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. net — for catching
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. shower — to wash
  11. row — a line
  12. shower — rain
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bank — for money
  17. row — to paddle
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. pop — music
  22. net — after costs
  23. pit — a hole
  24. mouse — for a computer

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