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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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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: key · saw · pound · wind · prune · wave · fork · mine

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. wind — moving air
  3. saw — the tool
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. key — the most important part
  9. key — for a lock
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. pound — a weight
  22. key — in music
  23. fork — in a road
  24. mine — for digging

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