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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: cold · sharp · squash · land · pop · track · trunk · bank

  1. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. squash — the sport
  3. track — a path
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bank — of a river
  6. track — to keep track
  7. track — a song
  8. land — ground
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. pop — soda
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bank — for money
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pop — music
  15. land — a country
  16. bank — for money
  17. sharp — clever
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. land — to come down
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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