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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: bowl · bank · hide · perch · firm · content · cold · root

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. content — happy
  3. firm — a company
  4. cold — not warm
  5. root — the cause
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. root — of a word
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. content — the amount
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bank — for money
  13. firm — decided
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bank — of a river
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. firm — steady
  19. perch — the fish
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bank — for money
  24. cold — the Cold War

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