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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: staff · rush · wake · saw · bank · cold · rock · roll

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rock — music
  4. wake — a trail
  5. staff — employees
  6. saw — the tool
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — a stone
  14. bank — for money
  15. cold — not warm
  16. roll — a list
  17. rush — hurry
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. staff — a stick
  20. staff — employees
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — of a river
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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