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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: prune · ruler · sharp · mark · mine · tear · bass · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. mark — a grade
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bass — low music
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mark — a trace
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — to trim
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. bass — the fish
  20. kid — child
  21. sharp — clever
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. mine — an explosive

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