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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: cold · cell · bank · firm · bowl · lash

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bank — for money
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cell — in biology
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cell — a phone
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. firm — steady
  13. firm — decided
  14. cold — not warm
  15. firm — a company
  16. bank — for money
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bank — of a river

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