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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bank — of a river
  4. roll — a list
  5. cold — not warm
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. spring — of water
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bank — for money
  10. bank — for money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. saw — the tool
  13. cold — an illness
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. swing — music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — obliged
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. roll — a cake
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spring — the season
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bound — certain

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