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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bank — for money
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. degree — an amount
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. degree — from a university
  9. bank — of a river
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bank — for money
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. prune — to trim
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stock — goods
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. drill — the tool
  22. stock — shares
  23. rash — a series
  24. wind — moving air

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