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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: kid · bank · drill · prune · last · stand · court · wake

  1. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stand — to bear
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bank — of a river
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. court — of a king
  11. wake — a trail
  12. drill — army training
  13. last — finally
  14. drill — the tool
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. court — of law
  17. last — final
  18. court — for sport
  19. kid — child
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. drill — a practice
  22. prune — to trim
  23. last — to go on
  24. bank — for money

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