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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · cell · wake · row · march · rush · bay

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — the season
  4. march — the month
  5. rush — hurry
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. row — a line
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. march — the month
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wake — a trail
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. march — music
  16. spring — a coil
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bank — for money
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bank — of a river
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bank — for money
  24. row — to paddle

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