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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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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bank — of a river
  4. swing — in golf
  5. fall — the season
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a tool
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. bank — for money
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. cell — in biology
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. swing — music
  16. bank — for money
  17. fall — to drop
  18. file — a line of people
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cell — a phone
  22. fall — to drop
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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