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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: row · content · file · season · cap · prune · roll · plane

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. season — in sport
  3. prune — to trim
  4. cap — a lid
  5. roll — a cake
  6. content — happy
  7. file — a tool
  8. cap — a hat
  9. content — the amount
  10. row — a line
  11. roll — a list
  12. prune — to trim
  13. file — a line of people
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. file — a document
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. season — of the year
  22. cap — of ice
  23. row — to paddle
  24. plane — a tool

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