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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bound — tied together
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. bank — of a river
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bark — to shout
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. chair — a leader
  21. bound — obliged
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bound — certain
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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