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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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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: cold · fall · bank · drill · rest · club · root · field

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. rest — what's left
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bank — of a river
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rest — a break
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. drill — a practice
  10. field — farmland
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. bank — for money
  15. field — a subject
  16. drill — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. rest — what's left
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fall — the season
  21. drill — army training
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — for sport
  24. cold — an illness

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