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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: march · court · rush · wound · bank · ball · spring · tube

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. court — of a king
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ball — a great time
  7. bank — of a river
  8. court — for sport
  9. march — music
  10. bank — for money
  11. march — the month
  12. ball — a dance
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — for money
  19. march — the month
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. rush — hurry
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. court — of law
  24. tube — a container

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