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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: roll · bank · cold · track · cap · content · ruler · mark

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bank — for money
  3. cap — a hat
  4. content — the amount
  5. cap — a lid
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bank — for money
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bank — of a river
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. roll — a list
  20. track — a song
  21. roll — a cake
  22. cap — of ice
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a path

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