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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · arm · prune · mark · dip · mine · game · bank

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bank — of a river
  3. mark — a grade
  4. game — wild animals
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. mark — a trace
  11. dip — to sink
  12. bank — for money
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — not warm
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bank — for money
  23. prune — to trim
  24. mine — for digging

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