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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 120 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  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. kick — in football
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mine — for digging
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bank — for money
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. shower — rain
  10. bank — of a river
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ball — a great time
  13. shower — to wash
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. chest — a box
  16. mate — a friend
  17. ball — a dance
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mate — to breed
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. coach — a trainer
  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