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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 116 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — of a river
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to click
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — in cards
  11. suit — to fit
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — of the year
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bank — for money
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. chair — a leader
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. track — to keep track
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. season — in sport
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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