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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: wind · press · bank · bat · patient · prune · scale · spring

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bank — for money
  4. press — a publisher
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — of water
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — size or range
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — the animal
  16. scale — in music
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wind — moving air
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bank — for money
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. bank — of a river

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