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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: cold · bowl · rest · bank · deal · band

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rest — what's left
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. band — a ring
  10. cold — an illness
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. rest — a break
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — for money
  15. band — a music group
  16. deal — to handle
  17. bank — of a river
  18. cold — not warm

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