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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mine · last · race · tube · drill · fan · prune · bank

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bank — for money
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tube — a container
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — to trim
  8. race — a contest
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bank — for money
  11. last — to go on
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. race — humankind
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. race — the arms race
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. last — final
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bank — of a river
  22. last — finally
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fan — a supporter

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