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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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. root — the cause
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. drill — a practice
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. cold — not warm
  9. court — of a king
  10. bank — of a river
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. kid — to tease
  16. court — of law
  17. mine — for digging
  18. root — of a word
  19. court — for sport
  20. root — of a plant
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bank — for money

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