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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'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. spring — of water
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. craft — boats
  10. hand — help
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. hand — in cards
  13. capital — money
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. craft — a skill
  17. bank — for money
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. spring — the season
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. capital — a city
  23. bank — of a river
  24. date — the fruit

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