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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: firm · mate · straw · spring · bank · mine · sharp · bark

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. mate — a partner
  4. firm — decided
  5. bank — of a river
  6. spring — the season
  7. firm — a company
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. mate — a friend
  10. firm — steady
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bank — for money
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. bank — for money
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mate — to breed
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. sharp — clever
  23. spring — of water
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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