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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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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: straw · wake · bank · row · season · suit · field · bound

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wake — a trail
  4. suit — in cards
  5. bank — of a river
  6. field — a subject
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bank — for money
  9. season — of the year
  10. bound — tied together
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bank — for money
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. row — a line
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. season — in sport
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. row — to paddle
  22. bound — certain
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — for sport

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