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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · wax · bound · spring · date · capital · perch · bank

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bank — for money
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bank — of a river
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bound — obliged
  8. perch — the fish
  9. bound — tied together
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. spring — a coil
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bank — for money
  14. wax — to grow
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. spring — the season
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bound — certain
  21. date — the fruit
  22. capital — money
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. capital — a city

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