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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: cold · bank · patient · bat · chip · firm · hide · root

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. root — of a plant
  4. firm — a company
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bank — of a river
  7. root — of a word
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. firm — steady
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bank — for money
  15. chip — for betting
  16. chip — to eat
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. firm — decided
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. root — the cause
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bat — the animal

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