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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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. bay — to keep at bay
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bank — for money
  7. clip — a video
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. prune — to trim
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. staff — employees
  15. cold — an illness
  16. net — after costs
  17. bank — of a river
  18. clip — to cut
  19. cold — not warm
  20. net — in sport
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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