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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: fork · pass · deal · wind · cold · band

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. band — a ring
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a music group
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. pass — a permit

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