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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cold — not warm
  3. land — to come down
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bank — of a river
  6. pitch — completely
  7. rest — a break
  8. rest — what's left
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. shower — to wash
  12. cue — for pool
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. land — a country
  16. chest — of your body
  17. land — ground
  18. bank — for money
  19. chest — a box
  20. cue — a signal
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. cue — a hint
  24. shower — rain

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