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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: tear · leaves · cold · prune · deal · drill · bank · pop

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bank — for money
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bank — for money
  6. tear — from crying
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. drill — the tool
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bank — of a river
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pop — soda
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tear — from crying
  15. deal — to handle
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. cold — an illness
  20. drill — army training
  21. pop — music
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. prune — to trim
  24. deal — a big deal

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