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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: mine · pop · race · saw · perch · spring · straw · bank

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. pop — music
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. pop — to visit
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bank — of a river
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — humankind
  14. saw — the tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bank — for money
  18. perch — the fish
  19. spring — a coil
  20. saw — the tool
  21. race — a contest
  22. bank — for money
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. pop — soda

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