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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bank — for money
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. net — for catching
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. bank — of a river
  9. net — after costs
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. mate — a partner
  13. deal — to handle
  14. net — in sport
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bank — for money
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. hand — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. game — wild animals

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