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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 116 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: pop · cold · wind · hand · mug · bore · spring · bank

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bore — to tire
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pop — music
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — to rob
  8. spring — the season
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bank — for money
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. spring — of water
  14. hand — help
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bank — of a river
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bank — for money
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. mug — a face
  21. bore — to drill
  22. pop — soda
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cold — not warm

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