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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: bat · mine · prune · jam · sharp · plane · arm · pop

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bat — the animal
  3. plane — a tool
  4. pop — soda
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. sharp — clever
  9. pop — music
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. mine — for digging
  20. prune — to trim
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. pop — to visit

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