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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 120 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: coach · bank · can · degree · rule · spring · prune · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. content — happy
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. degree — an amount
  4. can — a tin
  5. content — the amount
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. can — to be able to
  8. spring — the season
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rule — a law
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. spring — of water
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. degree — temperature
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. can — a tin
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bank — for money
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bank — for money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. rule — government
  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