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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  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 — of a river
  2. chest — a box
  3. lean — thin
  4. bank — for money
  5. kid — child
  6. shower — rain
  7. present — there
  8. bank — for money
  9. kid — to tease
  10. rest — what's left
  11. lean — to bend
  12. rest — a break
  13. present — a gift
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. chest — of your body
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rest — what's left
  20. present — the time now
  21. hand — in cards
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. hand — help
  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