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

Word bank: spring · wind · fork · mouse · bat · bank

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bank — for money
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. fork — in a road
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bat — the animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — of water
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bank — of a river
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. mouse — for a computer

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