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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. row — to paddle
  2. roll — a cake
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. fall — to drop
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bank — for money
  7. bound — certain
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bank — for money
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. fall — the season
  17. row — a line
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bound — obliged
  20. band — a ring
  21. roll — a list
  22. band — a music group
  23. fall — to drop
  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