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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: bank · lean · clip · ground · pound · prune · mate · wound

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. prune — to trim
  2. bank — of a river
  3. pound — a weight
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. mate — a friend
  6. wound — an injury
  7. prune — to trim
  8. mate — a partner
  9. bank — for money
  10. lean — to bend
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. ground — the earth
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. ground — a position
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. clip — a video
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wound — an injury
  23. ground — crushed
  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