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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 116 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. race — a contest
  9. fork — in a road
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. pop — to visit
  12. prune — to trim
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. file — a document
  15. file — a tool
  16. bank — for money
  17. race — the arms race
  18. bank — for money
  19. pop — music
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. race — humankind
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. pop — soda
  24. patient — a sick person

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