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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. mine — for digging
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. prune — to trim
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. court — of a king
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bank — for money
  11. season — in sport
  12. capital — a city
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — money
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. prune — to trim
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. bank — for money
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. stand — on your feet

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