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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bank — for money
  3. swing — to play on
  4. shower — rain
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. bank — for money
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — the tool
  9. degree — an amount
  10. chip — for betting
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. swing — music
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bank — of a river
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chip — to eat
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. degree — temperature
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. degree — from a university
  23. swing — in golf
  24. prune — the fruit

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