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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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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: bank · spring · pitch · bear · charge · prune · bat · roll

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. charge — a price
  8. spring — of water
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. charge — electricity
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — a cake
  17. bear — the animal
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bank — of a river
  20. charge — in control
  21. pitch — completely
  22. spring — the season
  23. bank — for money
  24. roll — on a roll

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