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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stick · land · pitcher · cold · scale · bank

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cold — not warm
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. land — to come down
  10. land — ground
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. scale — in music
  13. bank — of a river
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bank — for money
  17. land — a country
  18. scale — for weighing

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