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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: firm · bore · bank · prune · cold · court · file · kick

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. bore — to tire
  3. file — a document
  4. court — of a king
  5. firm — decided
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. bank — of a river
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bore — to drill
  11. firm — a company
  12. court — of law
  13. file — a tool
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. file — a line of people
  18. firm — steady
  19. court — for sport
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bore — gave birth
  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