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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: hand · cold · deal · file · bank · toast · wake · stem

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. file — a tool
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. bank — of a river
  5. hand — help
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. deal — to handle
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. file — a line of people
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bank — for money
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. hand — in cards
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. wake — a trail
  22. toast — bread
  23. file — a document
  24. bank — for money

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