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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: spring · bank · present · hand · track · stick · kid · last

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bank — for money
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. kid — to tease
  8. present — there
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — child
  11. present — the time now
  12. bank — of a river
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. track — a path
  18. present — a gift
  19. track — to keep track
  20. bank — for money
  21. track — a song
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. last — final

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