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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: game · prune · perch · cell · bat · sharp · rest · bank

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. game — a match
  3. perch — the fish
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bank — of a river
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cell — in biology
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bank — for money
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cell — a phone
  16. prune — to trim
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. rest — what's left
  24. rest — a break

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