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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: prune · stem · pit · deal · capital · kick · bank · shower

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. shower — to wash
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bank — for money
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. bank — for money
  10. stem — to come from
  11. capital — a city
  12. pit — in a race
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. pit — a hole
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kick — in football
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. deal — to handle
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — money
  24. bank — of a river

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