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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: can · wind · game · root · cold · straw · bank · wound

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. game — wild animals
  3. wound — an injury
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. can — to be able to
  9. bank — for money
  10. wind — moving air
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bank — of a river
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. root — the cause
  19. can — a tin
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cold — not warm
  22. root — of a word
  23. bank — for money
  24. game — a match

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