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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. suit — clothes
  3. clip — to cut
  4. suit — to fit
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. bank — of a river
  7. bank — for money
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a leader
  11. clip — a video
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. deal — to handle
  14. content — happy
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — for paper
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. content — the amount
  21. suit — in cards
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bank — for money

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