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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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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: bay · bank · cold · kick · band · lean · field · pound

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. bank — for money
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. field — farmland
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. band — a ring
  7. bank — of a river
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kick — in football
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. field — a subject
  18. bank — for money
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. band — a music group
  23. field — for sport
  24. pound — a weight

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