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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. net — in sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. net — for catching
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — an illness
  16. band — a music group
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. net — after costs
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. bank — of a river
  24. cold — not warm

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