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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: plane · spring · cell · wind · prune · bank

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. wind — moving air
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — the season
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. spring — of water
  10. bank — for money
  11. bank — for money
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in biology
  14. cell — a phone
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. prune — to trim
  17. plane — a tool
  18. spring — a coil

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