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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: tear · squash · straw · net · club · mine · roll · bank

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. net — after costs
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bank — for money
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bank — for money
  10. squash — to crush
  11. tear — to rip
  12. net — in sport
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. club — a group
  15. bank — of a river
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. tear — from crying
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. mine — for digging
  21. roll — a cake
  22. club — for golf
  23. net — for catching
  24. roll — a list

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