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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: fall · bank · fan · court · straw · file · row · pop

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. court — of a king
  3. row — a line
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. file — a tool
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bank — of a river
  9. pop — music
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fall — to drop
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. file — a line of people
  17. bank — for money
  18. pop — soda
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fall — the season
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. file — a document
  24. straw — a straw man

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