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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. charge — electricity
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bank — of a river
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. bank — for money
  9. degree — from a university
  10. charge — in control
  11. spring — a coil
  12. charge — a price
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. spring — the season
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bank — for money
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. shower — to wash
  20. shower — rain
  21. degree — temperature
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. trunk — of a car

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