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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 116 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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. rock — music
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bank — of a river
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. swing — music
  10. cue — a hint
  11. rock — a stone
  12. bank — for money
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. swing — in golf
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cue — a signal
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. squash — the sport
  19. swing — to play on
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cue — for pool
  22. squash — to crush
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. squash — the vegetable

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