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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: prune · saw · snap · mug · rush · chest · tear · tube

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mug — a face
  4. tear — from crying
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mug — to rob
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. chest — a box
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. mug — a cup
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tube — the underground
  17. snap — to click
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tube — a container
  24. rush — to hurry

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