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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: lean · deal · bank · kid · mine · bound · land · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bank — for money
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cold — not warm
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — of a river
  12. kid — to tease
  13. land — to come down
  14. lean — thin
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bound — obliged
  17. kid — child
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. lean — to bend
  21. bound — tied together
  22. mine — for digging
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. bound — certain

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