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

Word bank: cell · face · bank · prune · craft · row

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. bank — for money
  3. cell — in biology
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — of a river
  9. craft — boats
  10. row — a line
  11. face — part of the head
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cell — a phone
  14. prune — to trim
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. face — to point toward

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