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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: wake · wound · cell · craft · face · drill · spring · bank

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. face — to point toward
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — a trail
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. craft — a skill
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cell — a phone
  14. spring — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. bank — of a river
  23. drill — a practice
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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