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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. clip — to cut
  6. game — wild animals
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. chest — of your body
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. clip — a video
  15. chest — a box
  16. game — a match
  17. rock — a stone
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. clip — for paper
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. rock — music
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. drill — the tool

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