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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: cold · tear · roll · suit · spring · mine · court · bank

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. suit — clothes
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. tear — to rip
  5. spring — of water
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tear — from crying
  12. court — of law
  13. suit — to fit
  14. mine — for digging
  15. roll — a list
  16. bank — for money
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — the season
  19. bank — for money
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bank — of a river
  22. suit — in cards
  23. roll — a cake
  24. tear — from crying

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