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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: bat · bank · spring · lie · file · spell · calf · band

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spring — of water
  3. spell — magic
  4. bank — for money
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spell — letters
  7. lie — to recline
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bank — for money
  10. spring — the season
  11. file — a line of people
  12. file — a document
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. band — a music group
  15. band — a ring
  16. spell — a short time
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bank — of a river
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — a coil

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