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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 120 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: prune · cold · root · pop · craft · bat · bank · present

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. craft — boats
  3. pop — music
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. present — there
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. bat — the animal
  9. root — the cause
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bank — for money
  13. present — a gift
  14. root — of a word
  15. present — the time now
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. root — of a plant
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. cold — an illness
  23. craft — a skill
  24. prune — to trim

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