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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: cold · wave · prune · hand · firm · lie · toast · pop

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. firm — a company
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — help
  7. lie — to recline
  8. cold — not warm
  9. firm — steady
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. pop — soda
  15. toast — bread
  16. pop — music
  17. pop — to visit
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. cold — an illness
  22. hand — in cards
  23. firm — decided
  24. wave — of the sea

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