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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fan · charge · cold · row · stock · band · bank · kid

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. band — a ring
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. charge — in control
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bank — for money
  8. stock — goods
  9. charge — a price
  10. band — a music group
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bank — for money
  13. kid — child
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. stock — shares
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. row — a line
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. charge — electricity
  24. bank — of a river

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