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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: bank · bowl · stick · prune · content · wound · roll · chest

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. roll — a list
  3. bank — for money
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. roll — a cake
  9. content — happy
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bank — of a river
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. content — the amount
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bank — for money
  20. chest — of your body
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. chest — a box
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bowl — to roll

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