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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. swing — to play on
  3. charge — in control
  4. bank — for money
  5. mine — for digging
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. fall — the season
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. file — a tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fine — all right
  12. swing — in golf
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bank — for money
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. fine — high quality
  18. file — a document
  19. charge — a price
  20. swing — music
  21. bank — of a river
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. charge — electricity
  24. file — a line of people

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