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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: coach · spring · mine · racket · bat · hide · wind · bank

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wind — moving air
  5. spring — the season
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bank — for money
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. wind — moving air
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. mine — for digging
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bank — for money
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bank — of a river

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