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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  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. bank — for money
  2. prune — to trim
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cold — not warm
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. bank — for money
  9. saw — the tool
  10. rest — what's left
  11. saw — the tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bank — of a river
  17. rest — a break
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — a phone
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  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