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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. bank — for money
  2. charge — electricity
  3. charge — in control
  4. spell — magic
  5. saw — the tool
  6. spell — a short time
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. spell — letters
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. row — a line
  13. pound — a weight
  14. charge — a price
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bear — the animal
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bear — the animal
  19. saw — the tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cold — an illness
  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