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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: sharp · fine · cold · content · straw · game · spell · bank

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. spell — magic
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. sharp — clever
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spell — a short time
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. content — happy
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cold — an illness
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — not warm
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. fine — high quality
  16. game — a match
  17. bank — of a river
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. bank — for money
  21. spell — letters
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fine — all right

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