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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 120 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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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: bark · wound · swing · spring · hand · foot · rash · bank

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bank — for money
  3. bark — to shout
  4. hand — in cards
  5. swing — to play on
  6. bank — of a river
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hand — help
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. swing — music
  19. rash — a series
  20. bank — for money
  21. foot — a measure
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rash — on the skin

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