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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: bat · band · content · last · bank · fork · spring · hide

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bank — for money
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. spring — the season
  5. content — happy
  6. bank — for money
  7. bat — the animal
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. last — final
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. last — finally
  15. bank — of a river
  16. fork — in a road
  17. content — the amount
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. spring — of water
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. last — to go on
  22. band — a ring
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. spring — a coil

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