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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: bat · date · cap · prune · spring · charge · hand · bank

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cap — of ice
  3. prune — to trim
  4. charge — a price
  5. spring — the season
  6. bat — the animal
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bank — for money
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bank — of a river
  13. cap — a hat
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. spring — a coil
  17. charge — in control
  18. prune — to trim
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bank — for money
  21. spring — of water
  22. date — the fruit
  23. cap — a lid
  24. charge — electricity

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