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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · wind · key · prune · fall · drill · bound · sharp

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bound — obliged
  9. drill — army training
  10. bound — tied together
  11. fall — the season
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bound — certain
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — the animal
  19. drill — the tool
  20. key — for a lock
  21. fall — to drop
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. key — in music
  24. key — the most important part

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