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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bank — for money
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. court — for sport
  10. bank — for money
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — a match
  15. court — of a king
  16. prune — to trim
  17. game — wild animals
  18. degree — an amount
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. court — of law
  23. bank — of a river
  24. game — a kind of play

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