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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: chest · bank · wound · mug · straw · board · track · spring

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bank — for money
  4. chest — a box
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — to rob
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spring — of water
  9. board — to get on
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. wound — an injury
  14. board — a committee
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bank — for money
  17. spring — the season
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. track — a song
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bank — of a river
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. board — a flat piece

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