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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. ball — a dance
  6. game — a match
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. present — a gift
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bank — for money
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. game — wild animals
  18. present — there
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. present — the time now
  24. leaves — to go away

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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