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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: rest · cold · wax · fork · pitcher · board · wind · bank

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. wax — to grow
  3. bank — for money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. board — a committee
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bank — for money
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. rest — what's left
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. rest — a break
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. board — to get on
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — an illness

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