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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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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: staff · cold · bank · pound · squash · rule

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rule — government
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cold — not warm
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pound — a weight
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. squash — to crush
  13. bank — for money
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. staff — a stick
  16. staff — employees
  17. rule — a law
  18. pound — to hit hard

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