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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 116 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: march · rule · bank · scale · snap · cold · current · game

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. game — wild animals
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rule — government
  5. march — the month
  6. current — electric
  7. march — music
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. snap — to click
  11. bank — for money
  12. scale — in music
  13. bank — for money
  14. rule — a law
  15. current — of water
  16. cold — not warm
  17. scale — size or range
  18. current — happening now
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. game — a match
  23. march — the month
  24. rule — to rule out

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