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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: racket · last · jam · lie · spring · cold · shower · bank

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. lie — to recline
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. last — to go on
  18. spring — of water
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bank — of a river
  22. shower — rain
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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