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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: bark · bear · bank · date · clip · spring · cold · cue

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bank — for money
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bank — for money
  7. cold — not warm
  8. clip — to cut
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cue — for pool
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bank — of a river
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bear — the animal

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