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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: chip · spring · swing · bank · mark · mine · chest · key

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bank — for money
  6. key — the most important part
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mark — a grade
  11. swing — in golf
  12. chip — to eat
  13. swing — music
  14. spring — the season
  15. mine — for digging
  16. chip — for betting
  17. spring — of water
  18. key — for a lock
  19. chest — a box
  20. mark — a trace
  21. key — in music
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. bank — for money
  24. bank — of a river

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