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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: bank · jam · wind · leaves · cold · content · mate · field

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. content — the amount
  3. bank — for money
  4. field — for sport
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. content — happy
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. mate — a friend
  9. field — farmland
  10. wind — moving air
  11. field — a subject
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mate — to breed
  16. bank — of a river
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. wind — moving air
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bank — for money
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wind — to turn a key

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