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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 120 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. deal — to handle
  4. spring — a coil
  5. fine — all right
  6. spring — of water
  7. cell — a phone
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cell — in biology
  10. fine — high quality
  11. bank — of a river
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. season — of the year
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bank — for money
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. branch — a division
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. bank — for money
  24. spring — the season

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