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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. can — to be able to
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. can — a tin
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. row — a line
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. pitch — completely
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. bank — of a river
  14. root — of a plant
  15. plane — a tool
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bank — for money
  18. root — of a word
  19. can — a tin
  20. snap — to click
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. root — the cause

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