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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: pound · hand · craft · mouse · prune · content · ball · land

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. craft — boats
  5. content — happy
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. land — to come down
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. hand — in cards
  11. content — the amount
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. hand — help
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — a skill
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. ball — a great time
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. land — a country
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ball — a dance
  23. pound — a weight
  24. land — ground

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