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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: cabinet · bank · tube · row · drill · perch · deal · cold

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. cold — an illness
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. row — a line
  6. tube — the underground
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — a practice
  13. drill — army training
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — not warm
  16. perch — the fish
  17. deal — to handle
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bank — for money
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bank — for money
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. row — to paddle
  24. cabinet — ministers

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