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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: bank · nail · deal · pitcher · club · cold · staff · roll

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. staff — employees
  3. club — a group
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. club — for golf
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — for money
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. staff — employees
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. club — for dancing
  12. roll — a cake
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. deal — to handle
  18. roll — a list
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bank — of a river
  22. staff — a stick
  23. nail — on a finger
  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