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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 120 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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — of a river
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stem — to come from
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bank — for money
  12. board — a committee
  13. game — wild animals
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wake — a trail
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. board — to get on
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. game — a match

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