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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: fork · band · leaves · prune · face · object · tear · bat

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. fork — in a road
  3. band — a ring
  4. tear — to rip
  5. prune — to trim
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. object — to protest
  8. face — part of the head
  9. object — an aim
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bat — the animal
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. band — a music group
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. face — to point toward
  18. tear — from crying
  19. face — to confront
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. prune — to trim
  23. object — a thing
  24. tear — from crying

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