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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ground — the earth
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rule — a law
  12. club — for golf
  13. bank — for money
  14. ground — a position
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. stock — shares
  18. bank — for money
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. bank — of a river
  22. club — a group
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rule — government

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