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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. hand — in cards
  3. foot — a measure
  4. pop — music
  5. pop — to visit
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bank — of a river
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. game — a match
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fall — to drop
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cap — of ice

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