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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: game · lie · spring · face · swing · bank · hide · cell

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. swing — in golf
  3. bank — for money
  4. spring — of water
  5. bank — for money
  6. cell — in biology
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bank — of a river
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — a phone
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. face — part of the head
  13. spring — a coil
  14. swing — music
  15. face — to point toward
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. face — to confront
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. game — a match
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. spring — the season
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. lie — to recline

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