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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bank — for money
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — employees
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. chest — a box
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. chest — of your body
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. bank — for money
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bank — of a river
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. capital — a city
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. staff — a stick
  24. capital — 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