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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bound — certain
  6. rash — a series
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — an illness
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — a group
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bound — tied together
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bound — obliged
  16. game — a match
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. degree — from a university
  20. game — wild animals
  21. club — for golf
  22. rash — hasty
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. degree — an amount

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