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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 116 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. mug — to rob
  3. mug — a cup
  4. file — a tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. degree — temperature
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. file — a document
  11. degree — from a university
  12. land — ground
  13. file — a line of people
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — a country
  18. kid — child
  19. degree — an amount
  20. mug — a face
  21. saw — the tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. kid — to tease

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