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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: fork · clip · bank · bark · fan · root · cell · prune

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. clip — to cut
  4. cell — in biology
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. bark — to shout
  7. fork — in a road
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. clip — for paper
  11. bank — of a river
  12. prune — to trim
  13. clip — a video
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. bank — for money
  19. cell — a phone
  20. prune — to trim
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. root — the cause
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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