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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wave · fall · chair · pop · straw · court · game · bank

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. pop — soda
  5. bank — for money
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. game — a match
  12. bank — of a river
  13. court — for sport
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bank — for money
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pop — to visit
  19. court — of a king
  20. fall — the season
  21. pop — music
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. court — of law
  24. fall — to drop

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