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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 116 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: court · cell · mark · bank · cold · rush · content · saw

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bank — for money
  5. content — happy
  6. court — for sport
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. bank — of a river
  9. mark — a trace
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mark — a grade
  12. court — of a king
  13. court — of law
  14. bank — for money
  15. saw — the tool
  16. cell — a phone
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — an illness
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. rush — to hurry

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