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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  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 — to trim
  2. march — music
  3. craft — boats
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. scale — in music
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — the amount
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. march — the month
  15. band — a music group
  16. content — happy
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. prune — to trim
  19. scale — size or range
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. march — the month
  22. band — a ring
  23. craft — a skill
  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