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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: arm · prune · stick · bank · land · hand · spring · fork

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fork — in a road
  4. hand — help
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bank — for money
  7. land — to come down
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. bank — of a river
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bank — for money
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. land — ground
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. spring — of water
  24. land — a country

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