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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: bank · bear · fall · nail · hand · field · wax · spring

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. spring — a coil
  3. fall — to drop
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bank — for money
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. hand — help
  9. field — for sport
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bear — the animal
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. field — a subject
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bank — of a river
  17. fall — the season
  18. bank — for money
  19. field — farmland
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — the season
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. spring — of water
  24. bear — to put up with

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