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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: chest · bank · drill · last · can · cell · spring · stand

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chest — of your body
  3. can — to be able to
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — a tin
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — army training
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. last — finally
  10. bank — of a river
  11. last — final
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. drill — a practice
  18. last — to go on
  19. bank — for money
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. spring — the season
  22. bank — for money
  23. stand — to bear
  24. cell — in biology

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