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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 · rush · swing · shower · bass · bank · kid · mine

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. bank — for money
  3. spring — the season
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. swing — in golf
  7. shower — rain
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. kid — child
  11. swing — music
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. swing — to play on
  14. rush — hurry
  15. shower — to wash
  16. spring — of water
  17. bass — low music
  18. mine — for digging
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bank — for money
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. kid — to tease

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