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

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  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. band — a music group
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. spring — the season
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bank — for money
  10. cold — an illness
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bank — of a river
  13. band — a ring
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. cold — not warm
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spring — of water
  20. snap — to click
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. lash — to lash out
  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