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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bank — for money
  3. clip — for paper
  4. rock — a stone
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mate — to breed
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mate — a friend
  12. clip — a video
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. firm — decided
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. bank — of a river
  18. mine — for digging
  19. firm — a company
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bank — for money
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. firm — steady

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