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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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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: land · spring · tear · suit · bank · wind · rash · date

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bank — for money
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — ground
  5. wind — moving air
  6. tear — from crying
  7. land — a country
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. spring — a coil
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. suit — in cards
  13. bank — of a river
  14. wind — moving air
  15. land — to come down
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. suit — clothes
  18. spring — of water
  19. rash — a series
  20. tear — from crying
  21. suit — to fit
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bank — for money
  24. tear — to rip

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