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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: bat · cold · bank · squash · wound · cap · mark · jam

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cap — a hat
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bank — of a river
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cap — of ice
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — for money
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cold — not warm
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mark — a trace
  23. squash — the sport
  24. bat — in an idiom

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