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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. march — the month
  4. wind — moving air
  5. march — music
  6. prune — to trim
  7. board — a committee
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. cap — a lid
  12. row — to paddle
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. march — the month
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. pound — a weight
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. row — a line
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. board — to get on
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. wind — moving air

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