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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: mark · last · land · net · cell · swing · cold · bank

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mark — a trace
  3. last — to go on
  4. bank — for money
  5. cell — a phone
  6. swing — in golf
  7. land — a country
  8. mark — a grade
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. last — finally
  12. net — in sport
  13. land — ground
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. swing — music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. net — for catching
  20. last — final
  21. bank — of a river
  22. cold — not warm
  23. land — to come down
  24. net — after costs

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