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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. kid — to tease
  4. saw — the tool
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. game — a match
  9. bark — to shout
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. game — wild animals
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. key — the most important part
  18. chair — a leader
  19. saw — the tool
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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