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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. bank — for money
  2. chest — a box
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. shower — to wash
  5. staff — employees
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. squash — to crush
  8. staff — employees
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. staff — a stick
  13. prune — to trim
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. chest — of your body
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. shower — rain
  23. prune — to trim
  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