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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. land — to come down
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bank — for money
  7. wound — an injury
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — to tease
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cap — of ice
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. land — ground
  18. wound — an injury
  19. swing — in golf
  20. cap — a lid
  21. land — a country
  22. bank — for money
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cold — the Cold War

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