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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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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: ruler · bank · mate · cold · field · bowl · sharp · wind

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mate — a partner
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. bank — of a river
  11. field — farmland
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bank — for money
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. mate — to breed
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. cold — not warm

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