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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. present — a gift
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. march — the month
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bank — for money
  9. march — music
  10. bank — for money
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. game — wild animals
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. march — the month
  18. present — the time now
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. present — there
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. bank — of a river

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