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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: roll · bear · tube · press · spring · bank · lie · straw

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. press — newspapers
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. tube — the underground
  5. bank — for money
  6. spring — of water
  7. roll — a cake
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. press — a publisher
  10. spring — the season
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. press — to push
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. roll — a list
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bank — for money
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bank — of a river
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. lie — an untruth

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