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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: pitcher · rule · prune · bank · spring · swing · shower · cell

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — a law
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. spring — of water
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. spring — a coil
  8. swing — music
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bank — for money
  13. spring — the season
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. shower — rain
  16. bank — of a river
  17. swing — to play on
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bank — for money
  20. prune — to trim
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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