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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 120 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. cold — an illness
  3. swing — music
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. net — after costs
  10. bank — for money
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. net — for catching
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bank — for money
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. sharp — clever
  21. swing — to play on
  22. net — in sport
  23. swing — in golf
  24. wind — moving air

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