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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: bank · chest · game · last · net · spring · bear · pound

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. game — a match
  4. last — finally
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. net — after costs
  7. bear — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — final
  10. net — in sport
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. pound — a weight
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bank — for money
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. net — for catching
  20. last — to go on
  21. bear — the animal
  22. chest — of your body
  23. spring — the season
  24. chest — a box

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