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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. swing — to play on
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bound — tied together
  5. swing — music
  6. lean — thin
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bound — certain
  10. bank — for money
  11. current — of water
  12. lean — to bend
  13. bank — of a river
  14. spring — the season
  15. current — electric
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bound — obliged
  18. swing — in golf
  19. current — happening now
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bank — for money
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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