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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 120 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: cold · mouse · land · rash · bank · bay · root · band

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. land — a country
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rash — hasty
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. bank — for money
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. cold — an illness
  14. root — the cause
  15. band — a ring
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — of a plant
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rash — a series
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. land — ground
  23. land — to come down
  24. bank — for money

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