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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: pitcher · bank · cell · squash · ball · kid · cold · roll

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bank — for money
  6. kid — to tease
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — not warm
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bank — of a river
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. ball — a great time
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. squash — the sport
  20. kid — child
  21. ball — a dance
  22. squash — to crush
  23. roll — a list
  24. bank — for money

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