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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bank — for money
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rule — a law
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. track — a path
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cold — an illness
  13. track — a song
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. bank — for money
  16. rule — government
  17. bank — of a river
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cold — not warm
  24. can — a tin

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