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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. prune — to trim
  3. race — a contest
  4. bank — for money
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. chest — of your body
  7. race — humankind
  8. spring — the season
  9. bank — of a river
  10. stand — to bear
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. squash — to crush
  14. prune — to trim
  15. branch — a division
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. spring — of water
  22. race — the arms race
  23. spring — a coil
  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