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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: can · roll · deal · rest · cold · game · bank · rule

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bank — of a river
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — to handle
  10. game — wild animals
  11. rest — a break
  12. rule — a law
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rule — government
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — a tin
  17. bank — for money
  18. roll — a list
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bank — for money
  21. can — to be able to
  22. rest — what's left
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. rest — what's left

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