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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — a short time
  4. kid — child
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. toast — bread
  7. bank — for money
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bank — of a river
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. track — to keep track
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. track — a song
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — to get on
  17. kid — to tease
  18. track — a path
  19. chest — of your body
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. spell — magic
  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