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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: rock · spring · cell · bank · swing · plane · face · roll

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. spring — of water
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bank — for money
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. face — to confront
  7. rock — music
  8. swing — music
  9. roll — a list
  10. cell — a phone
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. roll — a cake
  13. swing — in golf
  14. spring — a coil
  15. cell — in biology
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bank — of a river
  18. face — to point toward
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. face — part of the head
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bank — for money
  23. spring — the season
  24. plane — a tool

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