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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: spell · stock · cold · cell · bowl · bank · present · swing

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. spell — a short time
  5. present — a gift
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. swing — music
  9. spell — magic
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bank — for money
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. bank — for money
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spell — letters

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