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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. object — a thing
  4. face — to point toward
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. face — to confront
  8. key — the most important part
  9. row — a line
  10. object — an aim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. saw — the tool
  16. rest — what's left
  17. object — to protest
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bark — to shout
  20. key — for a lock
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. rest — a break

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