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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: rest · bank · object · cell · racket · kid · cold · bound

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bound — certain
  5. object — an aim
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. object — a thing
  8. bound — tied together
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. rest — a break
  11. bound — obliged
  12. kid — child
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. cell — in biology
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rest — what's left
  18. object — to protest
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — for money
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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