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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. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. bank — for money
  3. cold — not warm
  4. ground — the earth
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. charge — a price
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. ground — a position
  12. bank — of a river
  13. ground — crushed
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cold — an illness
  17. charge — electricity
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. snap — to click
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. charge — in control
  22. roll — a cake
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bank — for money

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