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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cold — an illness
  3. can — a tin
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pop — to visit
  8. kick — in football
  9. can — to be able to
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. can — a tin
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bank — for money
  16. tear — from crying
  17. band — a music group
  18. tear — to rip
  19. pop — music
  20. chip — for betting
  21. tear — from crying
  22. pop — soda
  23. cold — not warm
  24. chip — to eat

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