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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. pop — music
  5. bank — for money
  6. wind — moving air
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bank — of a river
  11. pop — to visit
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. bank — for money
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. land — a country
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rush — hurry
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. land — ground
  24. land — to come down

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