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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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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: wind · cap · saw · prune · cell · wake · charge · fork

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. prune — to trim
  5. charge — electricity
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cap — of ice
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. saw — the tool
  15. charge — a price
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fork — in a road
  20. charge — in control
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cap — a lid

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