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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fine · cold · march · prune · ground · plane · craft · present

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. prune — to trim
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. present — there
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fine — all right
  7. cold — not warm
  8. march — music
  9. fine — high quality
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. present — a gift
  13. cold — an illness
  14. craft — boats
  15. plane — a tool
  16. craft — a skill
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. ground — crushed
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. ground — a position
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. plane — an aircraft

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