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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 120 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: file · cold · firm · fall · object · bound · bank · lean

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bound — obliged
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — a thing
  6. file — a tool
  7. firm — a company
  8. bank — for money
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cold — an illness
  11. firm — steady
  12. file — a document
  13. lean — thin
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. firm — decided
  17. bank — for money
  18. lean — to bend
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. bank — of a river

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