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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: spring · bank · saw · race · perch · wind · coach · date

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bank — for money
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. race — the arms race
  6. saw — the tool
  7. race — humankind
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bank — for money
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. spring — a coil
  14. perch — the fish
  15. race — a contest
  16. date — the fruit
  17. wind — moving air
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. spring — of water
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bank — of a river
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. spring — the season

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