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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. band — a music group
  3. present — a gift
  4. bank — for money
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. present — there
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. cold — not warm
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bank — for money
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — of a river
  19. present — the time now
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. band — a ring
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wound — an injury

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