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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: march · bank · roll · bass · fine · kid · cold · cap

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. kid — child
  3. bank — for money
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — the fish
  8. march — the month
  9. fine — all right
  10. roll — a cake
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. march — music
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cap — a hat
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bank — of a river
  19. kid — to tease
  20. fine — high quality
  21. bank — for money
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bass — low music
  24. roll — a list

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