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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
468
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: spring · season · bank · fork · arm · mug · cold · bound

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. spring — of water
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. season — of the year
  7. bank — of a river
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. spring — the season
  11. mug — a face
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bank — for money
  14. fork — in a road
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — in sport
  17. bound — tied together
  18. bound — certain
  19. cold — an illness
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bank — for money
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fork — a garden 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