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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. spring — of water
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. can — to be able to
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. kid — child
  10. last — final
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. file — a line of people
  13. file — a document
  14. can — a tin
  15. spring — the season
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. kid — to tease
  19. can — a tin
  20. row — a line
  21. pound — a weight
  22. file — a tool
  23. spring — a coil
  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