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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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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: net · firm · temple · object · prune · cold · saw · row

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. prune — to trim
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — steady
  8. cold — an illness
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. firm — decided
  15. net — after costs
  16. object — a thing
  17. row — to paddle
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — the tool
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. row — a line
  24. object — an aim

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