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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: cold · perch · field · last · pound · suit · snap · bank

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — finally
  4. snap — to click
  5. suit — in cards
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. suit — clothes
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. pound — a weight
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. suit — to fit
  15. field — a subject
  16. bank — for money
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. field — for sport
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. bank — of a river
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. last — final
  24. cold — an illness

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