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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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. march — music
  4. bank — for money
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — not warm
  8. snap — to click
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fine — all right
  11. march — the month
  12. mine — for digging
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. dip — to sink
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hide — to keep secret

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