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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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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: hand · cold · mug · bank · perch · rush · land · deal

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. mug — a face
  3. land — ground
  4. hand — in cards
  5. perch — the fish
  6. hand — help
  7. bank — of a river
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bank — for money
  11. mug — to rob
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bank — for money
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. land — to come down
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. deal — to handle
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cold — an illness
  21. mug — a cup
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. deal — an agreement

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