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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: squash · straw · pound · prune · bank · last · clip · field

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. clip — to cut
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — farmland
  7. bank — for money
  8. pound — a weight
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. last — finally
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — to crush
  16. clip — a video
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bank — of a river
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. squash — the sport
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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