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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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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: rock · bank · wind · march · straw · stand · fork · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rock — music
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wind — moving air
  6. spring — the season
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. stand — to bear
  11. march — the month
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. fork — in a road
  14. bank — for money
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — a stone
  17. march — music
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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