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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. spring — a coil
  3. march — music
  4. saw — the tool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. saw — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — to trim
  10. march — the month
  11. bear — the animal
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. spring — of water
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. foot — a measure
  19. file — a line of people
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. spring — the season
  22. hand — help
  23. file — a document
  24. prune — to trim

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