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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mate — to breed
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. snap — to click
  7. cold — not warm
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. bass — low music
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bass — the fish
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. band — a music group
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. band — a ring
  22. bank — for money
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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