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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — to visit
  4. face — to confront
  5. row — a line
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bulb — for light
  11. face — part of the head
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bank — for money
  20. cold — not warm
  21. pop — soda
  22. bank — for money
  23. pop — music
  24. bowl — a dish

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