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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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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: racket · bank · game · cold · perch · wound · object · rock

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cold — an illness
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bank — of a river
  5. wound — an injury
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. object — to protest
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bank — for money
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. rock — music
  16. game — a match
  17. bank — for money
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rock — a stone
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. perch — the fish
  24. wound — an injury

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