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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 120 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: rest · pop · arm · hand · hide · wind · prune · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. prune — to trim
  5. rest — a break
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — to visit
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rest — what's left
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. hand — help
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hand — in cards
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. wind — moving air
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. prune — to trim
  21. rest — what's left
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. prune — the fruit

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