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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. kick — in football
  6. bank — of a river
  7. cold — an illness
  8. can — to be able to
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — hurry
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cold — not warm
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — a phone
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bank — for money
  24. cold — the Cold War

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