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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. cell — in biology
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of a king
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bank — for money
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chest — of your body
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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