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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: bank · spring · arm · rock · hide · squash · sharp · land

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. squash — the sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. land — a country
  6. bank — for money
  7. rock — music
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. bank — of a river
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. spring — the season
  13. land — ground
  14. rock — a stone
  15. sharp — clever
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. spring — of water
  18. land — to come down
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bank — for money
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. sharp — with an edge

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