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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: bank · perch · bat · spring · swing · rule · ground · hand

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. perch — the fish
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bank — of a river
  8. hand — help
  9. swing — to play on
  10. spring — a coil
  11. rule — a law
  12. swing — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. bat — the animal
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money
  19. rule — government
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. swing — in golf
  22. spring — of water
  23. hand — in cards
  24. ground — the earth

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