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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: cell · leaves · prune · chip · bank · patient · degree · row

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bank — for money
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. degree — temperature
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bank — for money
  10. row — to paddle
  11. degree — an amount
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. chip — for betting
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. chip — to eat
  17. cell — in biology
  18. prune — to trim
  19. row — a line
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bank — of a river
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. prune — the fruit

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