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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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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: club · prune · object · leaves · row · saw · pop · spell

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. object — an aim
  3. object — to protest
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. object — a thing
  6. pop — music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. saw — the tool
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — letters
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — to trim
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. saw — the tool
  17. spell — a short time
  18. pop — to visit
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. club — for golf
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a line

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