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

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bank — for money
  4. content — the amount
  5. bank — for money
  6. content — happy
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cell — a phone
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — of a river
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. lie — an untruth

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