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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: tube · bulb · cold · lean · march · bank · snap · bowl

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bank — for money
  5. lean — thin
  6. march — music
  7. snap — to click
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — of a river
  11. tube — a container
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lean — to bend
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. march — the month
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bulb — for light
  21. tube — the underground
  22. march — the month
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. lean — to rest against

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