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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: hide · chest · wound · row · swing · jam · bank · spring

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. spring — the season
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. wound — an injury
  7. spring — of water
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chest — a box
  10. row — a line
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. bank — for money
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. swing — in golf
  17. chest — of your body
  18. row — to paddle
  19. spring — a coil
  20. bank — for money
  21. bank — of a river
  22. swing — music
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chest — of your body

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