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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. bank — for money
  2. bank — of a river
  3. spring — the season
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pound — a weight
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. cell — in biology
  10. spring — of water
  11. scale — in music
  12. court — for sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. spring — a coil
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cell — a phone
  23. scale — size or range
  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