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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: cold · march · object · roll · bank · present · squash · wax

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. object — to protest
  3. wax — to grow
  4. squash — the sport
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. march — the month
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. march — music
  10. bank — of a river
  11. object — an aim
  12. roll — a list
  13. present — a gift
  14. cold — an illness
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. squash — to crush
  17. march — the month
  18. object — a thing
  19. bank — for money
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — there
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. bank — for money

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