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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chest · stick · cell · cold · current · bank

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. cell — a phone
  3. chest — a box
  4. current — of water
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — of a river
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bank — for money
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chest — of your body
  12. current — electric
  13. cold — not warm
  14. current — happening now
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to

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