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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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bank — of a river
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bank — for money
  10. shower — to wash
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — in cards
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bank — for money
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. hand — help
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. mate — a friend
  22. shower — rain
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wave — with your hand

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