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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: cell · snap · hide · press · bank · spring · bat · net

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bank — of a river
  4. net — in sport
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. spring — of water
  7. press — to push
  8. spring — a coil
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. press — newspapers
  11. snap — to click
  12. net — after costs
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bank — for money
  17. cell — a phone
  18. spring — the season
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. press — a publisher
  22. net — for catching
  23. cell — in biology
  24. hide — to keep secret

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