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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. pop — soda
  6. rest — a break
  7. row — a line
  8. pop — music
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bank — of a river
  13. kid — to tease
  14. rest — what's left
  15. pop — to visit
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bank — for money
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rest — what's left
  23. kid — child
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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