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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: current · drill · bank · row · mouse · last · rash · cold

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. rash — a series
  3. rash — hasty
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — to paddle
  6. current — electric
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. last — to go on
  9. bank — for money
  10. drill — the tool
  11. last — final
  12. cold — not warm
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. drill — a practice
  16. current — happening now
  17. bank — for money
  18. current — of water
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. row — a line
  21. last — finally
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. drill — army training
  24. cold — an illness

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