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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 116 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: saw · fork · fall · spring · bank · cold · mug · patient

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. spring — a coil
  3. cold — not warm
  4. spring — of water
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. mug — a face
  7. fall — the season
  8. bank — of a river
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. saw — the tool
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bank — for money
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. spring — the season
  22. bank — for money
  23. mug — a cup
  24. cold — an illness

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