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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. bank — for money
  4. bank — of a river
  5. spring — the season
  6. chest — of your body
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. band — a ring
  9. snap — to click
  10. bank — for money
  11. roll — a cake
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. object — a thing
  14. tube — a container
  15. chest — of your body
  16. object — to protest
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. chest — a box
  19. roll — a list
  20. spring — a coil
  21. object — an aim
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. band — a music group
  24. spring — of water

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