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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. prune — to trim
  4. squash — the sport
  5. mate — a partner
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — a trace
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. clip — a video
  13. bank — for money
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mate — a friend
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. mate — to breed
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. clip — to cut
  20. pound — a weight
  21. squash — to crush
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bank — of a river

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