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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bank — of a river
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. court — of a king
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. bank — for money
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cell — in biology
  12. court — of law
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bank — for money
  15. wind — moving air
  16. spell — letters
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spell — magic
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. spell — a short time
  21. dip — to sink
  22. saw — the tool
  23. court — for sport
  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