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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: sharp · rule · coach · last · rash · bank · spring · fall

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. spring — the season
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fall — the season
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rule — a law
  9. fall — to drop
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. last — to go on
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bank — for money
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — final
  18. spring — of water
  19. rash — a series
  20. rule — government
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. last — finally

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