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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: face · last · prune · ball · clip · squash

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. last — to go on
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. last — final
  6. face — part of the head
  7. face — to point toward
  8. squash — to crush
  9. clip — a video
  10. ball — a dance
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. last — finally
  14. squash — the sport
  15. clip — to cut
  16. clip — for paper
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ball — a great time

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