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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  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. chair — a leader
  2. bank — of a river
  3. cold — not warm
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bank — for money
  6. snap — to click
  7. bound — tied together
  8. prune — to trim
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. bound — certain
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. drill — army training
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bound — obliged
  20. drill — a practice
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. prune — to trim
  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