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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. bank — of a river
  4. rest — a break
  5. bank — for money
  6. tear — from crying
  7. object — an aim
  8. shower — to wash
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cold — an illness
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. rest — what's left
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. object — to protest
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rest — what's left
  24. object — a thing

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