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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: straw · capital · leaves · clip · track · prune · bank · rush

  1. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. clip — a video
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. prune — to trim
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. rush — hurry
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. clip — to cut
  14. capital — a city
  15. track — to keep track
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. bank — for money
  19. clip — for paper
  20. capital — money
  21. bank — for money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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