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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bank — for money
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rash — a series
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. file — a tool
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. spring — of water
  16. file — a document
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spring — a coil
  21. chest — of your body
  22. spring — the season
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — of a tree

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