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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: spring · bark · content · mine · arm · stock · bank · wake

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bank — for money
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. content — happy
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. spring — of water
  10. spring — a coil
  11. stock — goods
  12. bark — to shout
  13. bank — for money
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bank — of a river
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mine — for digging
  18. spring — the season
  19. content — the amount
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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