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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. prune — to trim
  3. march — the month
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bass — low music
  6. charge — a price
  7. march — the month
  8. content — happy
  9. content — the amount
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — the fish
  12. stock — goods
  13. clip — for paper
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. march — music
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. charge — in control
  18. clip — to cut
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stock — shares
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. clip — a video
  23. charge — electricity
  24. bank — for money

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