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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: prune · swing · cold · lean · squash · bank · march · face

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. swing — in golf
  5. lean — thin
  6. swing — music
  7. bank — for money
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. face — to confront
  11. lean — to bend
  12. face — to point toward
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. march — the month
  15. bank — of a river
  16. march — music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. squash — the sport
  19. squash — to crush
  20. march — the month
  21. bank — for money
  22. swing — to play on
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. face — part of the head

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