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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tube — the underground
  5. saw — the tool
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. last — to go on
  8. fine — high quality
  9. ground — the earth
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. last — finally
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ground — crushed
  19. last — final
  20. ground — a position
  21. prune — to trim
  22. fine — all right
  23. tube — a container
  24. fall — to drop

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