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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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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. present — there
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. mug — to rob
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — not warm
  9. game — a match
  10. bound — certain
  11. present — the time now
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mug — a cup
  16. staff — a stick
  17. bound — tied together
  18. present — a gift
  19. mug — a face
  20. game — wild animals
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. staff — employees

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