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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. clip — for paper
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. cold — an illness
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bank — of a river
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. clip — to cut
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. board — to get on
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bank — for money
  20. clip — a video
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. pound — a weight
  23. board — a committee
  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