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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: object · season · cold · march · cell · wake · roll · bank

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bank — of a river
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cell — in biology
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. season — in sport
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. roll — a list
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. object — to protest
  13. object — an aim
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. object — a thing
  20. march — music
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cell — a phone
  24. wake — a trail

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