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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. season — of the year
  4. present — the time now
  5. present — a gift
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. content — happy
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. land — ground
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. content — the amount
  14. bank — for money
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. land — a country
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. land — to come down
  19. season — in sport
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bank — for money
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bank — of a river

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