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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: bass · mate · chest · arm · ground · prune · board · tear

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tear — to rip
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bass — the fish
  5. board — a committee
  6. prune — to trim
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chest — of your body
  10. board — to get on
  11. ground — crushed
  12. chest — a box
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. ground — a position
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. bass — low music
  18. mate — a partner
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. tear — from crying
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mate — to breed
  24. mate — a friend

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