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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: bark · pit · wind · prune · cold · race · pop · bank

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pop — music
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pit — a hole
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. pop — soda
  10. race — a contest
  11. cold — an illness
  12. race — humankind
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bank — for money
  15. bark — to shout
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. bank — of a river
  21. bank — for money
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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