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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: cold · spring · foot · bank · wave · stock · ruler · branch

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. bank — for money
  3. spring — of water
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. cold — an illness
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. cold — not warm
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. branch — a division
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. spring — the season
  20. foot — a measure
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — goods
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. stock — a soup base

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