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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bank — of a river
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bank — for money
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. spring — a coil
  9. prune — to trim
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bank — for money
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. club — for golf
  15. spring — the season
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. club — a group
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. rash — a series
  23. spring — of water
  24. prune — to trim

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