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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: lean · field · prune · content · tear · row · pound · ruler

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — a weight
  3. content — the amount
  4. field — farmland
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. prune — to trim
  7. content — happy
  8. row — to paddle
  9. field — for sport
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. field — a subject
  20. tear — to rip
  21. tear — from crying
  22. row — a line
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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