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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: mine · face · bank · game · lie · prune · tear · saw

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bank — of a river
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bank — for money
  8. prune — to trim
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. saw — the tool
  13. game — a match
  14. mine — for digging
  15. lie — to recline
  16. face — to point toward
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. saw — the tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. face — part of the head
  23. bank — for money
  24. mine — belonging to me

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