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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: hand · cap · wake · fan · bank · lean · cold · leaves

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cap — a lid
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. lean — thin
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bank — for money
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wake — a trail
  14. hand — in cards
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cap — a hat
  20. cold — not warm
  21. hand — help
  22. cold — an illness
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. fan — a supporter

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