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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: swing · shower · bank · bark · arm · mine · spring · pop

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bank — for money
  3. pop — soda
  4. swing — to play on
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pop — music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bank — of a river
  13. pop — to visit
  14. mine — for digging
  15. shower — rain
  16. swing — music
  17. bank — for money
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. shower — to wash

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