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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · pop · cold · field · chair · bank · wind · plane

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bank — for money
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bank — of a river
  8. can — a tin
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. chair — a leader
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pop — to visit
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bank — for money
  22. pop — music
  23. field — for sport
  24. can — a tin

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