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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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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: bank · rest · band · content · stick · coach · field · spring

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. bank — for money
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. spring — a coil
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. content — the amount
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bank — for money
  9. band — a music group
  10. rest — a break
  11. field — a subject
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. spring — the season
  14. rest — what's left
  15. field — farmland
  16. spring — of water
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bank — of a river
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. band — a ring
  21. field — for sport
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. content — happy
  24. rest — what's left

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