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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. mine — for digging
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. face — to confront
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bound — obliged
  10. saw — the tool
  11. face — to point toward
  12. prune — to trim
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. wind — moving air
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bound — tied together
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. bound — certain
  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