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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: bound · spell · club · pop · cold · ball · roll · bank

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — magic
  4. cold — not warm
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. club — for golf
  7. bank — for money
  8. bound — obliged
  9. bank — of a river
  10. club — a group
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bound — tied together
  13. pop — to visit
  14. ball — a great time
  15. pop — music
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. bank — for money
  18. pop — soda
  19. club — for dancing
  20. spell — letters
  21. bound — certain
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. cold — an illness
  24. roll — a list

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