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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 · present · chair · fall · pitch · sharp · bank · wind

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. bank — of a river
  3. bank — for money
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — the season
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. present — the time now
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bank — for money
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitch — completely
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fall — the season
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. sharp — clever

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