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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 116 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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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: racket · safe · stock · bank · cold · fork · rest · land

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. land — to come down
  4. rest — a break
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. land — a country
  13. stock — shares
  14. bank — for money
  15. rest — what's left
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. land — ground
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. bank — of a river
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. stock — goods
  23. fork — in a road
  24. rest — what's left

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