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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bank — for money
  5. squash — the sport
  6. row — to paddle
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bank — of a river
  16. squash — to crush
  17. row — a line
  18. bass — low music
  19. pit — in a race
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. bark — to shout
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bass — the instrument

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