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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: stick · bank · capital · lean · chair · content · mine · prune

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. prune — to trim
  3. content — happy
  4. capital — a city
  5. bank — of a river
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. lean — to bend
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. chair — a leader
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. bank — for money
  15. lean — thin
  16. prune — to trim
  17. bank — for money
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. capital — money
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. mine — for digging
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. content — the amount

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