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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: wake · bowl · staff · bank · pit · game · last · cold

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. bank — for money
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. last — final
  5. cold — not warm
  6. staff — employees
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. staff — employees
  10. pit — a hole
  11. bank — for money
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. staff — a stick
  15. last — to go on
  16. game — wild animals
  17. last — finally
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. pit — in a race

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