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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. row — to paddle
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bank — for money
  5. row — a line
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bore — to drill
  9. cold — not warm
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. face — to confront
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. bank — of a river
  16. last — to go on
  17. bore — to tire
  18. mate — a partner
  19. last — finally
  20. mate — to breed
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. face — part of the head
  23. face — to point toward
  24. wind — to turn a key

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