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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bank — for money
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chest — of your body
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bass — low music
  8. fall — the season
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. chest — a box
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. bound — certain
  14. bank — for money
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bank — of a river
  22. chip — to eat
  23. prune — to trim
  24. chip — for betting

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