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

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. land — a country
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bank — of a river
  5. degree — temperature
  6. pound — a weight
  7. content — the amount
  8. land — to come down
  9. court — of law
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. court — of a king
  13. bank — for money
  14. content — happy
  15. bat — the animal
  16. degree — an amount
  17. prune — to trim
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. court — for sport
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — ground
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. pound — to hit hard

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