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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — not warm
  3. can — a tin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bank — for money
  7. bank — of a river
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. bank — for money
  11. mine — for digging
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. band — a ring
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. band — a music group
  22. can — a tin
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. cold — the Cold War

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