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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bank — for money
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bank — of a river
  9. race — a contest
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. spring — a coil
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. rash — hasty
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. race — humankind
  21. swing — to play on
  22. rash — a series
  23. bank — for money
  24. leaves — to go away

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