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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: craft · face · tube · prune · pound · lean · snap · ground

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. snap — to click
  3. craft — a skill
  4. lean — thin
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. prune — to trim
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. ground — crushed
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. ground — a position
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to confront
  17. ground — the earth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pound — a weight
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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