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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 ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. ground — crushed
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. game — a match
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bank — for money
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stand — to bear
  13. hand — help
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. track — a song
  16. hand — in cards
  17. track — a path
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. bank — of a river
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — the earth
  23. track — to keep track
  24. stand — for spectators

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