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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: fall · court · date · roll · bat · row · prune · bank

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bank — for money
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. court — of a king
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. court — for sport
  9. prune — to trim
  10. roll — a list
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. bank — of a river
  13. row — a line
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bank — for money
  18. court — of law
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. date — the fruit
  22. row — to paddle
  23. fall — to drop
  24. date — on the calendar

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