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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mine — for digging
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bank — for money
  6. current — of water
  7. bank — of a river
  8. pop — soda
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pop — music
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — the season
  17. kid — child
  18. pop — to visit
  19. current — electric
  20. current — happening now
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — to crush
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. tube — the underground

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