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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. kid — to tease
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spring — of water
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. kid — child
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. spring — a coil
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rest — a break
  14. spring — the season
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. branch — a division
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. rest — what's left
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. deal — to handle
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. deal — a big deal

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