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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bank — for money
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. rest — a break
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bank — for money
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. dip — to sink
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — of the year
  22. game — wild animals
  23. game — a match
  24. rash — a series

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