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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. suit — clothes
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — low music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. tear — to rip
  9. suit — to fit
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pound — a weight
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. saw — the tool
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. saw — the tool
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bass — the fish
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. suit — in cards
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cell — in biology
  24. shower — rain

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