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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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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: tear · temple · bank · prune · pit · sharp · wind · ground

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bank — of a river
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pit — in a race
  8. ground — the earth
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. ground — a position
  11. tear — to rip
  12. sharp — clever
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — moving air
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bank — for money
  19. ground — crushed
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. pit — a hole
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. bank — for money

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