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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 116 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: charge · pit · saw · band · row · prune · ground · hand

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. charge — a price
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. prune — to trim
  10. pit — a hole
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hand — in cards
  13. band — a ring
  14. charge — in control
  15. saw — the tool
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. saw — the tool
  19. ground — a position
  20. pit — in a race
  21. row — a line
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hand — help
  24. charge — electricity

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