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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. net — for catching
  3. saw — the tool
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. file — a tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. date — the fruit
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. prune — to trim
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. file — a document
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. file — a line of people
  16. cold — not warm
  17. net — after costs
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tube — a container
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. net — in sport
  23. tube — the underground
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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