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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · bank · last · chair · land · game · squash · cold

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. bank — for money
  3. bank — of a river
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. last — final
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. squash — the sport
  8. last — to go on
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. squash — to crush
  12. land — a country
  13. game — a match
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. game — wild animals
  17. chair — a leader
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. last — finally
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. land — to come down
  23. bank — for money
  24. land — ground

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