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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spring — the season
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spring — of water
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. bank — for money
  11. charge — electricity
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bank — for money
  14. charge — in control
  15. cold — not warm
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. charge — a price
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mark — a trace
  21. saw — the tool
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bank — of a river

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