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

Word bank: spring · cold · kick · trunk · coach · rest · bank · straw

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. rest — what's left
  3. spring — a coil
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. kick — in football
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. cold — an illness
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. rest — a break
  15. bank — for money
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spring — the season
  19. bank — of a river
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. spring — of water
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. trunk — of a car

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