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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse 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. kick — with a leg
  4. spell — letters
  5. prune — to trim
  6. plane — a tool
  7. scale — in music
  8. hand — help
  9. kick — in football
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — of a river
  19. hand — in cards
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. scale — size or range
  22. rash — hasty
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — magic

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