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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 120 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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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 · saw · file · face · stick · mark · ground · cold

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. ground — the earth
  9. cold — an illness
  10. ground — a position
  11. file — a tool
  12. mark — a trace
  13. face — to confront
  14. mark — a grade
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. prune — to trim
  20. file — a document
  21. saw — the tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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