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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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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 · calf · perch · cold · snap · rush · file · bank

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bank — for money
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. file — a document
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bank — of a river
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. march — the month
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. rush — hurry
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — the fish
  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