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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 120 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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. ball — a great time
  3. saw — the tool
  4. band — a ring
  5. content — happy
  6. season — of the year
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. current — of water
  15. chest — a box
  16. season — in sport
  17. current — electric
  18. current — happening now
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. ball — a dance
  22. band — a music group
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. ball — a round shape

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