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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  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. wound — an injury
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. prune — to trim
  7. file — a document
  8. content — happy
  9. wound — an injury
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. dip — to sink
  13. fall — to drop
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fall — the season
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a line of people
  23. fall — to drop
  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