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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 116 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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. band — a music group
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bank — for money
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — ground
  15. mine — for digging
  16. band — a ring
  17. land — a country
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bank — of a river
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bank — for money

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