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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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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: bank · field · staff · season · saw · toast · snap · cold

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. season — in sport
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. bank — for money
  7. field — for sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. field — farmland
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. staff — a stick
  14. saw — the tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bank — of a river
  18. staff — employees
  19. season — of the year
  20. bank — for money
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. toast — bread
  23. cold — not warm
  24. snap — to click

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