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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 120 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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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: bank · fine · stem · field · spring · rule · fall · straw

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spring — the season
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. rule — government
  5. fine — all right
  6. bank — of a river
  7. field — a subject
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. field — farmland
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — for money
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rule — a law
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fall — the season
  21. field — for sport
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stem — a stem cell

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