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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 very handy with a ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. saw — the tool
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. band — a ring
  5. swing — to play on
  6. scale — in music
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. band — a music group
  11. swing — in golf
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. track — a song
  15. track — a path
  16. prune — to trim
  17. track — to keep track
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. saw — the tool
  23. swing — music
  24. scale — size or range

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