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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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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 · bowl · mine · bank · wave · ground

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bank — for money
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bank — of a river
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mine — for digging
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bank — for money
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ground — a position

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