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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: spring · cold · mark · pop · wind · vault · bound · bank

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — obliged
  3. vault — a safe
  4. bound — certain
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. spring — the season
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bank — of a river
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bank — for money
  13. wind — moving air
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. bank — for money
  16. pop — soda
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — not warm
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pop — music
  23. spring — of water
  24. mark — a trace

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