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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. band — a music group
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bank — of a river
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. fork — in a road
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. row — a line
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fine — high quality
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. bat — the animal
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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