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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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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: content · spring · cell · drill · firm · bank · lash · wind

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. spring — the season
  5. bank — for money
  6. cell — in biology
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. bank — for money
  9. cell — a phone
  10. drill — the tool
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. drill — army training
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. spring — a coil
  16. firm — steady
  17. spring — of water
  18. firm — decided
  19. content — happy
  20. content — the amount
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. drill — a practice
  24. firm — a company

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