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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 116 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: board · perch · cell · cold · bank · object · pass · ground

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  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 — to protest
  2. cold — an illness
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. ground — a position
  6. bank — for money
  7. object — an aim
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pass — a permit
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. object — a thing
  16. ground — the earth
  17. board — to get on
  18. board — a committee
  19. cell — a phone
  20. perch — the fish
  21. ground — crushed
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bank — for money
  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