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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 120 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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cap — a hat
  3. club — for dancing
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bank — of a river
  6. pop — music
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. pop — soda
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. club — for golf
  12. tear — from crying
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cap — a lid
  15. club — a group
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. tube — the underground
  18. pop — to visit
  19. snap — to click
  20. bank — for money
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cap — of ice
  23. tube — a container
  24. straw — dry grass

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