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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: game · calf · stock · mate · chip · cold · bank · cap

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bank — for money
  4. game — a match
  5. stock — goods
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. mate — a partner
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — shares
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mate — a friend
  18. cap — a hat
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. mate — to breed
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bank — of a river
  23. chip — for betting
  24. chip — to eat

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