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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 120 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: fan · spring · cold · pitch · suit · saw · stand · bank

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bank — of a river
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. suit — in cards
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bank — for money
  14. suit — to fit
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spring — of water
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. suit — clothes
  21. stand — to bear
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. bank — for money

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