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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. row — a line
  4. cold — not warm
  5. spring — the season
  6. kid — child
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. prune — to trim
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. bank — for money
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cold — an illness
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — boats
  18. kid — to tease
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bank — of a river
  24. prune — to trim

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